You're Sending Us to School!
by rogueicephoenix
Summary: [Complete](YYH-HP Crossover) The Spirit Detective's newest mission? To keep a certain Boy-Who-Lived safe. And that means no skipping class, Mr. Urameshi! What's this about a new member of the team? Read 'n find out! (Hints of R-He, Kur-OC)
1. A New Mission and a New Partner

DISCLAIMER: NO! I do not own Harry Potter or Yu Yu Hakusho (I wouldn't mind owning Kurama... wink-wink...)

Chapter 1: A New Mission and a New Partner

Kurama and Botan desperately restrained a growling Hiei from maiming an extremely frightened Koenma. Kuwabara and Yusuke, both wearing long, jaw-dropped face, were not in any way helping.

"Let go of me, you damned fox! I swear I'll kill that-"

"It's not like he's requesting you to actually become a human, so control yourself, Hiei!" the redhead interrupted. Then, lowering his voice so that only the fire demon could hear: "Besides, you wouldn't want Koenma to… inadvertently let a certain something slip, now would you?" The threat was as good as pure gold and Hiei (begrudgingly) settled down.

"Hn." The single syllable somehow sounded a bit strained.

"Would you please repeat that, Koenma, sir?" Botan asked.

"Oh, uh, yes. The five of you will be going on a mission to England. Botan, your mission is a bit separate from theirs, though it's the same basic objective, and I'll get to it later. But for Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, your assignment is to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-what, Yusuke?!"

"You're sending us to SCHOOL?!"

Sweat-drops all around.

"To continue. The central objective is to ensure that this boy-" here the 'toddler' clicked on his remote control to reveal a picture of a teenaged boy, pale and thin, with eyes almost as green as Kurama's, his raven black hair falling into them, though a lighting-shaped scar was just visible, "-is safe. His name is Harry Potter, aged 16. Ever since he was a year old, he has been sought out by this man-" another click revealed a disturbing-looking man, with red slits for eyes and a pallor that made this Harry boy look rosy, "-whose name is never said except by the strongest wizards: Lord Voldemort. Years ago, this wizard struck fear into the entire magical community-"

"He's so ugly, no wonder!"

"Look in the mirror, moron," was Hiei's retort to the carrot-haired boy.

"-by murdering a countless amount of wizards and humans. Harry was the only one who was attacked and managed to survive."

"Oh."

"So all we have to do is beat this puny guy's ass and then leave? Piece of cake!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Not exactly," two voices said in unison. One was Koenma's; the other was that of a girl standing against the wall behind them that no one had noticed (or, well, paid attention to) come in. Heads turned to see a slender teen of about 5'8" (a.n.: I have no idea what this is in Metric!) whose black hair was swept up in a bun and whose green-brown eyes surveyed them from behind rimless glasses. She wore a black t-shirt with some band's name on it, battered sneakers, and her blue jeans were frayed a bit at the bottoms. Suddenly, she smiled a bright half smile.

"I'd like you to meet Thianadel Sherwood, who will be accompanying the four of you on this mission. Thianadel, I believe that you already know who these five are?"

"Yup."

Not 'Yes, Koenma, sir.' Not 'Yes, my lord.' Just 'Yup.' This wasn't one of Koenma's lackeys.

"Thianadel is from America. She's been studying with a friend of mine over there for some years in much the same way as you studied with Genkai, Yusuke. Speaking of Genkai, she's also going to be with you. She applied for the position of professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts and was accepted."

"To answer your comment, Yusuke, we don't just kill Voldemort and leave. It's just a security job. Keep Harry safe. Besides, according to a prophecy that was made, only Harry has the power to kill Voldemort and vice-versa. If you try to do it, the natural flow of events will be overturned," explained Thianadel, her voice even and emotionless.

"There are two other parts to your mission, as well. The first thing is that we've received intelligence that Voldemort is recruiting demons to help in his schemes. Unfortunately, wizards are no match for demons, and there could be some serious casualties if these demons make their way into Hogwarts. You must keep watch over the entire student body by infiltrating the four houses that the students are assigned to: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Hopefully, at least one of you will be appointed to each house, but if not then you're going to have to keep an even closer watch."

"Hey, Koenma? Could you explain about wizards? 'Cause I thought that they were, like, fake." Kuwabara had unknowingly voiced the exact same thought that Yusuke had been thinking at that very moment. A tic appeared on Koenma's forehead.

"Wizards are very much like psychics in a way. Their spirit awareness levels are higher than any normal human's, yet that's what they are: humans." Hiei grunted before the prince continued with, "They have a special kind of spirit energy that is manifested through the wands in much the same way that you, Kuwabara, created that special Spirit Sword during the Dark Tournament with the help of that Trial Sword that Suzuka gave you. Also, they rely more heavily on spells, charms, and the like than any of us do. Now, before I go any further, are there any more questions? I hate being interrupted."

No one had anything else to say.

"All right then. Botan, this is your mission- and I'm letting all of you know this because it affects you, too. You're going to be representing Spirit World at the Order of the Phoenix along, once more, with Genkai. It's a secret organization (though exactly how secret it is now, no one knows) set up by the enemies of Voldemort. Quite a few of the Hogwarts teachers are members, including the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. They're the ones who appealed to me for help, because although they want to protect Harry, with all of the attacks upon their members lately, it's impossible to keep one eye on him and one eye on Voldemort. Accordingly, this Voldemort fellow needs the attention of both eyes and it's impossible to have one eye on the boy and two on-" A glance at Hiei and Koenma revised that with, "Never mind."

But Hiei didn't seem to care about that. Instead, his comment to the toddler was: "Even though you have an obligation to look after those worthless humans, I do not. Tell me why I should bother to waste even a second of my time on this mission."

"Aside from a very obvious reason, you mean? I'm afraid I've received news that a certain person was seen brutally beating someone up in a dark alleyway. This is a crime that breaks a certain person's probation and that is punishable with time behind bars…"

"Hn."

"Who's this 'certain person' that you're all talking about?" Kuwabara cluelessly asked.

Sweat-drops for just about everyone.

"Well... Anyway. The term begins in two weeks, which should be sufficient time to come up with a cover story for your absences, as it'll span an entire school year. Here are your plane tickets for August 29. You'll meet Thianadel at the New York airport, (and yes, Kurama, I realize that this is probably a little longer this way) and then you'll head out to England. You'll stay in London until the 1st of September, which is when the term begins."

"As for what to bring, you only need to bring clothes for all seasons. I'll take care of the rest of the stuff. Keep in mind that human technology doesn't work inside Hogwarts walls. You can bring an owl, a frog, or a cat, but it's not really necessary. Owls are used to keep in contact with relatives back home." Thianadel shrugged. "It'll only make your things heavier."

"Hear that, Kuwabara? You can bring your precious kitty cat!" Yusuke cackled.

"Hey! Stop making fun of Eikichi!"

"Don't hit me!!!"

Everyone else sweat-dropped.

Author's Notes: Okay. So the first chapter of my first fanfic is DONE! I'm soooooo thankful for any of you who bothered to read this story! I'll admit it's pretty ambitious for a first-timer, but my imagination is currently on hyperspeed. The good stuff is yet to come, and I'd really appreciate it if you would spend a few minutes reviewing this... Thanks for everything!


	2. The Gang's All Arrived

Chapter 2: The Gang's All Arrived

"That certainly is a lot of luggage," Kurama commented.

The four had just arrived in Kennedy airport in New York after a very long and strength sapping plane ride from Japan. They had been immediately met by Thianadel, who was toting five extremely large trunks and two backpacks. At 4:00 in the morning, she was a sight to be seen. Shadows under her eyes, tendrils of hair escaping their bounds, and eyes barely open, she sat in the waiting room.

As they approached, she straightened up and held out her hand to them. In it were four gold octagonal pins bearing the inscription _English_.

"What're these for?" Yusuke asked. As soon as he said it, he realized that he said it in Japanese. Meaning, of course, that not only could Thianadel not understand, neither would any of the other students. "Oh... I get it."

After they had been pinned on, the girl asked, "What did you say Kurama? Yusuke?"

"That certainly is a lot of luggage," the red-head repeated. Yusuke just shook his head.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to carry it into the airport at 1:00 in the morning. Luckily it's not all mine. Yusuke's is the green one with the magnifying glass, Kuwabara's is the blue one, Kurama's is the dark green with leaf prints on it, and Hiei's is black one with the creepy eyes. This one's mine," she said, tapping her current seat. "You can keep them on the cart for now, but I'm sorry, I can hardly plod along never mind push something."

"What are those initials on yours? Charms or something? 'Cause they're really cool looking," said Kuwabara, speculating the different colored stickers on Thianadel's box. The girl sighed.

"We're wasting time. The flight is in two hours and we need to eat. The SP stands for Simple Plan, this S stands for Switchfoot, this other S stands for Sugarcult, the LP stands for Linkin Park, TDG stands for Three Days Grace, B-182 is for Blink-182, TC for The Calling, and the GC is for Good Charlotte. They're all only the best rock bands on Earth, especially Good Charlotte. Now can we _please_ move on?" This, all spoken within the space of barely half a minute, was a little hard to take in and so they stared for a moment at Thianadel's retreating back.

"Hey! Thian- Thianana- Sherwood!"

"Oh, just call me Thia. It'll be easier for your scant brains," she called back. For some reason, seeing the Spirit Detective's crew again gave her just about the same rush as sugar. This was going to be awesome.

They had arrived in the London airport. Just about everyone was drooping, though they were making a valiant effort to seem like they weren't. And just when they all thought that they were going to drop dead from exhaustion, (which was just about when they entered the Leaky Cauldron) Thianadel fished out five white pills from a bottle in her backpack.

"What are those?"

"They're called modafinil. They're supposed to banish jet lag and that type of thing," was her response. This was a sort of trust-tester. Did they really accept her as a part of this mission? Or did they have doubts about her?

Kuwabara and Yusuke downed their portions in a second. Hiei... she hadn't really expected him to, anyway, first because his trust was harder to earn, second because this was a result of human efforts and doubted that even more than he doubted her, and third because he wouldn't admit he was tired. And Kurama was the tricky one. Almost trusting, a little suspicious, that was his nature, or so she'd guessed.

"Interesting. I've never heard of this drug before. Are there any side-effects?" Thia would have sighed in relief if she let herself.

"Only mild ones. They had it featured in the _Science Times_ weeks ago. I figured that at least someone would need proof, so I brought a copy. I'm just ever so prepared, aren't I?" She laughed at herself, dug it out from a folder in her backpack, and after handing it to Kurama, knocked back one of the round tablets.

"Say, Kurama, what name are you gonna go by at this school?" Yusuke was curious to know. He, Kuwabara, and Kurama had come up with the cover story that they had been accepted into an English academy (free, of course) that was the best of the best. Shiori had been a bit surprised, though only that it was in London. Atsuko had barely believed that her school-skipping, ragamuffin son had been accepted into any school, never mind a prestigious London one! (They'd had to tell her that the school wanted Yusuke on their boxing team.) Still, the three of them had created false acceptance letters supposedly sent through their separate schools and had managed to fool the mothers (Kurama still felt a little bad about it). Shizuru had to be told the truth, though, as had Kayko.

"Suichi Minamino. That way, if anyone has the need to contact my mother, she'll know who they're talking about," came the reply from behind the newspaper. Yusuke snapped out of his musings.

"Hey, Thia, we four guys know each other. What's your story? Why'd Koenma pick you?"

This was what Thianadel had been trying to avoid. 'Getting to know you time'. But she couldn't run from it forever, now could she? A hint of sadness crept into her eyes and did not go unnoticed by any of the four who were sitting at the table with her.

"All right, all right..."

Author's Notes: You got through this second chapter! Yay! I'm sorry that I put that itsy-bitsy cliffhanger right at the end there... Please forgive me! But the third chapter is already written and being put up extremely soon... Don't forget me! Please review, though I'm not gonna beg.


	3. Thia's Story

**_Response(s):_**

_Saccharine-Ish Thank you! Actually, I was working on incorporating romance into it... I'm still thinking about the pairings, though...___

Author's Notes: You're probably going to kill me for bothering to interject this mini-story into the mix, though it'll help to understand Thianadel's background more. If you're only here to read about your favorite charrie... I'll understand if you just skip this chapter...

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. Otherwise, I own the rest of this story.

Chapter 3: Thia's Story

o Told from Thianadel's POV o

I was born in and grew up in New York. I had a younger brother, Andrew, and an older half-brother, Bryan. We lived with my mother for a good part of the year and stayed with my father for the main holidays. Everything fell into the normal pattern of life until the year that Bryan turned 12.

That year was when our problems began. Bryan began to manifest certain abilities that were almost impossible to believe. He told us that he could feel ghosts-

_"The tickle feeling," Kuwabara interrupts._

Yeah. He said it was like ice up his spine. And then he began to hear voices.

I will admit, he was pretty persistent. He swore that they were real and I believed him. But only me. My parents sent him to a psychiatrist.

Twelve is a pretty young age for a telepath to fully realize what his gifts are and accept them, not to mention sort out which voices are real, which are thoughts, and which is his conscience. Which, I believe, are the reasons why he had to be admitted to an institution.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, my father decided that being in two different boroughs of New York wasn't a great enough space between him and his mother. He decided on moving to Spain. And even that wasn't enough.

_I can feel my voice getting weaker by the second. But this is a story that needs to be told and so I strengthen it._

That year, the day I turned 9, my father committed suicide. It's sad because my mother wasn't the type of shrill and shrewd woman that he always said she was. He killed himself over an illusion.

A half a year passed and everything was almost back to normal when I began to develop abilities, as well. Different from Bryan's, yes, but just as... untamed, I guess you could say.

And that's when I met Robin, my master. He was a psychic and a friend of Koenma's. Not as good as Genkai, but as near as he could be. So he trained me to be somewhat of an apprentice. I saw it as a way of avoiding a hospital or an institution.

_I smile, remembering gentle Robin, who would keep me practicing until I was ready to drop, but who always had a soda ready for me when I did._

Nine. What an age to start training at! Another year and a half passed quickly without my family knowing about what I could do. When I was 11, tragedy struck once more.

It's like a curse or something was put on my family. Andrew, aged 8, went with his summer camp to the beach. He was pulled out by the undertow and drowned before the lifeguard could reach him. And that, apparently, was the last straw for my mother. She was heartbroken over everything that had happened to the very point where she was clinically depressed and near suicidal. She'd virtually lost both of her sons and felt guilty that her ex-husband had killed himself over her. So I was the only thing that she had. A daughter who wasn't home very much anymore. A daughter who put her heart and soul into training herself and her powers and her school work, but left hardly anything for home.

I threw myself into everything, even though that's the worst thing that you can possibly do. And my mom grew convinced that I didn't love her anymore. But that wasn't true. I wanted her to be safe. That became my new reason for wanting to improve my abilities. Because I didn't want to lose her the way that she lost everyone else and the way that she thought she was losing me.

_I know that they must think I'm a pity case. So why am I telling them this? It's so personal... But then I realize that they've been through the worst with each other, these four. I have to tell them about my worst, even if after they hear this they think I need their pity._

_Kurama's looking at me with so much sympathy and understanding in those green eyes of his, I feel like he knows how I feel. And he probably does because he loves his mother like I loved mine._

And so I thought I was under a curse or that someone upstairs must be out to get me.

In any case, I had gotten a lot accomplished with Robin in the 3 years he was my master. And then he told me that the final moments of my apprentice years had come and he would teach me the technique that had been passed down from generation to generation. After that he'd have nothing else to teach me.

The day after he told me that, the day that I was to graduate to the next step, an apparition appeared. I believe his name was Rando, though he was under a different cover at that time.

_This draws a quick look from Yusuke and Kuwabara._

He stole the technique meant to be learned by me and killed Robin right before my eyes. Yet with his dying breath, my master whispered a spell that spirited me away to my apartment.

_The next part of the story will be the hardest. I hate every minute of this, their eyes looking at me, boring into me. I keep my eyes on the tabletop._

My mother, panicky and not at all stable in her mind, had broken when she couldn't find me in my house. She concluded that I'd run away or something. So I, her only and her ray of fading light, was gone to her as well.

_Deep breaths.__ Don't cry. It'll all be over soon._

She killed herself.

So, that's my story. The reason why I'm here is because Koenma knew Robin and he didn't want me to be floating around in New York to be influenced by outside sources. I was able to finish 7th grade, even though half of my time was spent at Spirit World, where I grew interested in you guys. And so, since after a year Koenma still had nowhere to put me, he gave me this mission with you.

_I'm met with complete and utter silence from my companions, though the rest of the Leaky Cauldron is extremely noisy._

_"Hn."__ Hiei crosses his legs and looks away. "Don't expect to get any pity out of me with that tale of yours, human."_

_I break out into a smile that I know is full to the brim with gratitude._

Author's Notes: If you've actually bothered to read this, then I must say, I'm as grateful to you as Thia was to Hiei. Whadda ya think? Isn't she a weird little NY chickadee? What does the rest of the gang think of her? That's in another chapter... And yeah, I know, I know, Sherwood, Robin... I was half asleep, ok? I'd love to hear your comments (or criticism, as the case may be...)!


	4. The Train Ride

DISCLAIMER: This is getting extremely annoying... I do not own Harry Potter, Yu Yu Hakusho, or any of the gangs I named (except for the Pink Dragons... I made that one up).

Chapter 4: The Train Ride

The five of them were at the station just in time. Both Kuwabara and Yusuke had been up for half the night being themselves, talking and fighting, both homesick but acting like tough guys. It had taken about a half an hour to wake them up.

And then it had taken quite a few minutes of watching  and worrying for everyone to get past the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾. But now they were on the Hogwarts Express, a huge red train that was positively crawling with students.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing, Sherwood?! Dragging us through the entire friggin' train... This trunk is heavy here, lady!"

"Will you just calm down? I know what I'm doin', got it?" was the snappish response. "And just play along for once. You got a problem, call my lawyer."

"Your lawyer? You probably don't have a lawyer!" crowed Yusuke triumphantly.

"That's my point."

"Huh? Kurama, did you get it?"

"I'm afraid her logic is quite lost on me. Or perhaps the entire point of it was to confuse us..."

"Oh, hello! I'm sorry to be a pain, but are these seats full?" Thianadel, seemingly ignoring her companions, stepped into the compartment and greeted a thin boy with a lot of black hair and green eyes: Harry Potter.

"Oh, er, not at the moment. My friends are coming back soon, but you can stay if you'd like..." The truth was that Harry was torn between his unwillingness to socialize at the moment and his curiosity. After all, he'd never heard of Hogwarts taking in any transfer students...The Triwizard Tournament, yes, but that was a different story.

Well this was an odd bunch! Two were very average-seeming boys, one of whom had Weasley red hair and fair skin, though no freckles. Perhaps a very distant cousin of Ron's, Harry speculated. There was also a very Goth-dressed-all-in-black-don't-you-dare-come-near-me looking first year- Wait, was it a first year? Looking closely into those red eyes, (Harry was a little... unnerved at this; Voldemort's eyes were red...) though, one could see that this person had seen a whole lot beyond the perceived age. So maybe this kid was like Flitwick- he didn't grow.

Harry turned his thoughts and his gaze to the two girls in the group. They were both about the same height and age, and Harry wondered if, maybe, they were sisters. Both had green eyes, though the dark-haired girl's had a tint of brown in them, whereas the red-head's were brighter and more like emeralds.

"Oh, sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'm Thianadel Sherwood. I like Thia better, and only idiotic buffoons call me Sherwood," the dark-haired girl said, smiling poisonously at Yusuke, who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. She had to be from America, judging from the 'blunt' accent that the British boy spotted in her speech.

"Suichi Minamino. It's a pleasure to meet you..." Kurama swiftly interjected. Harry was astonished- the girl was... a guy!

"I thought you were a girl!" flew out of Harry's mouth even before he could stop it, and Kurama's implied question was forgotten. The target of the comment only sighed, almost as if he was giving up. The average-seeming boys went into fits of hysteric laughter and the first year gave up a reluctant smile. The girl rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.

"I get that remark often," was the Suichi boy's response.

"You should cut your hair once in a while, Kur- I mean, Suichi!" Kuwabara almost slipped up.

"Hn," from the little Goth boy. "He wouldn't cut it if his life depended on it."

"Oh, leave him alone."

"Hn. 'Suichi'-" this name was spat out like a curse, "-can fight his own battles, hu-"

Clapping his hand over the little fire-demon's mouth, Kurama said, "This is Hiei. He doesn't have very many social skills, I'm afraid."

"I'm Kuzuma Kuwabara, but you just call me Kuwabara. Only my beloved Yukina-" fangs were bared and a growl escaped from Hiei's mouth, "-calls me by my first name... And, well, my sister."

"And I'm the great Yusuke Urameshi!" he crowed triumphantly.

They looked at Harry expectantly.__

"Oh. Yeah. I'm Harry Potter." The 16-year-old waited expectantly for the _reaction_ to come.

"Oh, so you're that guy."

That was unexpected. 'That guy'? These had to be transfer students for them not to get flustered or shy. A blow to Harry's ego, perhaps, but one that was welcomed in a way. Anonymity seemed like a great prospect after all of the media controversy surrounding the famous Harry Potter during his 5th year at Hogwarts.

"Er. I've never seen you at Hogwarts before. So, uh, what-"

"Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I are transfer students from Japan. Our master,-" Kurama willed Hiei to not give them away, "-Genkai, is to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"And I'm from the U.S."

"You're lucky that you didn't come last year. The last Dark Arts teacher was a horror," Ron remarked as he came into the compartment, Hermione close after.

"Hello. Uh-"

"Ron Weasley. Hey Harry, did the sweets trolley come round yet?"

"I'm Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you." She stared at Kurama for a moment, and then managed to pry her gaze away.

"No."

Ron sighed and looked the new Hogwarts students over intently.

"I'm Thianadel Sherwood, and these are Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Suichi Minamino, and Hiei."

The silence after that was a bit uncomfortable.

"So. Uh. What part of America do you come from?"

"New York."

"Really? I've heard that they've got gangs there! Really violent, too. Do they really carry guns and knives with them everywhere they go?" Ron asked enthusiastically.

Thianadel decided to try to frighten them a little. "Well, yeah. You've got the Bloods, the Crypts, the Latin Kings... the, er, Pink Dragons (a Chinese gang, you don't want to make fun of the name). If you wear the wrong bandana on the wrong turf, well then, bang. There are some rogue gangstas, too, and they're the worst kind. No one's safe around them, not even their so-called allies."

"Wow..."

"So you mean that if the shrimp here-"

"If you value your life, I advise you to-" Hiei was cut off by the sliding open of the compartment door once again.

"You were bluffing just now, were you not?" Kurama whispered to Thianadel. Her response was a grin.

"Well, well, a couple of new students, eh?" Draco Malfoy's snide voice drifted into the ears of all those around him. Harry could see that the blonde was ignoring him to the best of his abilities. And why not? His father was in Azkaban supposedly because of Harry.

"Don't associate me with these idiots." Hiei crossed his arms, offended.

"A pureblood, then? You should be sticking with us. No telling how they'll contaminate you. Look at Weasley here. Eh, this one here's about as poor as you, Weasley, if that's even possible. Can't even afford a pair of socks!" Thianadel looked down at her sockless feet nestled inside her sneakers.

"Oh, how boring you are. Who in the world cares about socks?" the girl asked, unfazed, and began to read a book in her lap. Malfoy's face screwed up in disgust, and then turned to the person to her left.

"How about you? What's your name, besides 'beautiful'?" Once again, Kurama had been mistaken for a girl. Next to him, Thia shook with silent laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks and onto her book. Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped exchanging glares with the blonde boy's lackeys in order to stare at their leader. Kurama sighed and took the book away from Thia before she damaged the pages any more.

"What?" Draco was furious at being ignored.

Harry was glad to have a remark ready for Draco. "Malfoy... Do you have something to tell us?"

Too curious to realize that he had broken the method of the 'arctic shoulder' towards his mortal enemy, Malfoy wanted to know, "What in the blazes are you saying, Potter?"

"I didn't know you were _that way_."

"What in the bloody HELL are you so smug about?!"

"We never guessed that you were queer, Malfoy."

Thia shook so hard that Kurama wondered if she would explode.

But seeing Draco's face _was_ pretty hilarious. His face drained of any and all color, and then swiftly became redder and redder, until he was a puce color that reminded Harry of his Uncle Vernon.

"Ok, air. Breathe," Thianadel reminded herself aloud, only to relapse into laughter once again. Kuwabara and Yusuke joined in, as well as Ron (covering up the fact that he hadn't known that Suichi was a guy quite well), Hermione, and Harry. Hiei allowed himself a very small crack of a smile.

Malfoy stormed away, Crabbe and Goyle not far behind him.

"Oy... sorry, Suichi. That was just too good of an opportunity."

Author's Notes: Ok, I know that Malfoy was a _bit _out of character with the whole 'beautiful' thing. Let's just make this a side effect of his raging hormones. I am totally sorry if I offended you with the little prank that they played on Malfoy as well as in the terminology that I used. _I have nothing against homosexuality and therefore please don't kill my confidence or my writing career!!!!_ As Harry said, it "was just too good of an opportunity." Any other comments are welcomed. The story may be going a bit slow, but just hang on; I _think_ it'll get better.


	5. Hiei's Musings and the Sorting Hat

DISCLAIMER: Here we go: I don't own Harry Potter, Yu Yu Hakusho (though I wish for all the world that I owned Kurama...sigh).

Chapter 5: Hiei's Musings and the Sorting Hat

Hiei sat in the boat going to the Hogwarts castle and wondered.

What the hell was he doing here? Ah, yes. Just because some foolish human had tried to rough him up and he had retaliated violently. What was the problem with that? But no, Koenma decided to make that worthy of prison time. Pah. It's not like he'd killed the man.

He easily could have. Wasn't that worth a reward rather than a punishment?

The Hogwarts castle loomed up before them, and Hiei was mildly impressed that a human could ever make that type of structure. The key word there was 'mildly'. But he had seen more impressive sights in his lifetime.

As they stepped onto the shore and up the steps to the entrance of the castle, Hiei snuck a look at Kurama. He was seemingly at ease, the way that he always was. His eyes were alert, however, and the fire-demon knew that he was annoyed at being separated from their mission. Hiei personally couldn't care two flying figs about the little twit.

Yusuke and Kuwabara- that moron! –continued the fight that they had started as they had gotten off the train.

Hiei turned his gaze at the newest member of their group, the Thianadel girl. What an odd human. Hiei had thought that the comment he made at the end of her tale would make her downcast at the very least, for it seemed like the type of story one told to gain sympathy. But she had seemed... appreciative of it. Peculiar, to say the least.

And what an annoying little outfit this school had.

"Form a line, now. Transfer students, please stay here until I come back to fetch you again." This was said by a severe-looking woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

"D'you think we could make a run for it while she's gone? I hate school," Yusuke grumbled. This earned him a glare from Thianadel.

So, instead of running, they waited for what seemed like eternity. Hiei could clearly hear what was going on inside, and Kurama probably could as well, but it was getting quite boring. Apparently someone was rattling off the first years' names and then something was announcing into which group they were supposed to go. And then finally, the list got to the Z's and the McGonagall woman was waving for them to come in.

"This year we have been granted a treat. There will be five transfer students joining the sixth year class. Four are from Japan and the fifth comes from the United States. Their mentor, Professor Genkai, has been appointed to the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and we are very happy to welcome them to Hogwarts. These students will now be Sorted," an old man said. Clearly this was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who had asked Koenma's help in protecting Harry.

_Senile old fool. I could kill you in an instant,_ Hiei thought.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and was about to begin when she suddenly stared at the first name on the list. Then: "Hiei."

"Huh?"

"That guy's too short to be a sixth year!"

"Doesn't he have a surname?"

Hiei glared, but went up to the front of the room and sat on the stool there. McGonagall put a hat upon his head before he could protest.

_You're quite unreadable, old one._

_Of course I am, you ratty old-_

_Ah, a fiery little spirit aren't you? You know, if you'd just lower that barrier around your mind for a minute, it'd be easier and faster for-_

_Not a chance in hell._

_Slytherin, then?___

_Whatever.__ It's not like I care._

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat crowed.

"Kuwabara, Kazuma."

_Ah, a lot of courage in that brain of yours. Not an ounce of ill-will, either._

_So, uh.__ Where does that put me?_

_Not all that clever, though..._

_HEY!_

_I think you belong in _"GRYFFINDOR!"

 "Minamino, Suichi." Sighs rang out all over the hall.

_Ah, another old one. Curious, though, that you choose to show me something. The other one wouldn't give anything._

_He's not one for people skills._

_Ah. Let's see, there's compassion for others, there's courage, there's ruthlessness, but above all, a desire to learn. That puts you in _"RAVENCLAW!"

"Sherwood, Thianadel."

_Let's see here. Tragedy runs deep, I see._

_Can we keep off this subject, please?_

_As you wish. Courage, yes, and quite a lot of mental strength. Quick mind, I see. A very quick mind! Almost as bright as the one before you. _"RAVENCLAW!"

"Urameshi, Yusuke."

_Let's just get this over with, you stupid hat._

_Ah, another fireball. An extraordinary amount of courage and loyalty! This one's sure to be in _"GRYFFINDOR!"

"And now that the Sorting has been completed, I have but two words for you: Tuck in!" Dumbledore boomed.

"Hey Harry, we can't, like, go to a different table, can we?" Yusuke asked, looking across the Great Hall at Kurama.

"No. How did your friend Hiei get into Slytherin, anyway?" the green-eyed boy asked suspiciously, swallowing a spoonful of food.

"FOOD! Hey, how'd it get here?" But neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara bothered to listen to the reply or to answer Harry's question. Rather, they were downing the cuisine so fast that even Ron, who had previously been the biggest and fastest eater, stared.

**_Responses:_**

_Slave2anime Thanks! I tried my hardest to make Thia a more... down to earth, just-your-average-adolescent kind of girl. Being perky's Botan's job! About the pairings...I'm thinking very hard about it...cannot decide!!!_

_Inu-Hakusho Girl, Everqueen, and DaftSageThanks soooo much!_

_Bar-Ohki You were soooo close! Cool!_

_xKitsunex__ Wow! Thank you!!!! About the Rando thing: I figured that if Thia decided to fight Rando she'd get slaughtered (what a bad thought to have! I have no confidence in my character!). I was worried about how everyone would take the 'beautiful' comment! About the Kurama-book thing: I was tempted...sooo tempted._

Author's Notes: Well, I thank you for your support... It's just so touching! (Not being sarcastic... it really is!) Well, anyway, please review!


	6. The First Day, Caffeine Withdrawal, and ...

DISCLAIMER: Although I really dislike saying it, I DON'T OWN YU YU HAKUSHO OR HARRY POTTER!!!! Happy now? Bloody lawyers...

Chapter 6: The First Day, Caffeine Withdrawal, and Nonsense

"Thianadel. Thianadel Sherwood. Sherwood!" someone called, shaking the named person out of a very deep and blissful sleep.

"Mm? What?" She lifted her head up ever so slightly.

"Suichi's waiting for you in the common room. Breakfast. And classes, too."

"Ai... Could you tell him I'm coming down? Thanks. Who are you again?"

"Padma Patil. How do you know him anyway? Because he is sooo-"

"Padma, this is your chance to go and tell him something!" Thia cut her off, trying to keep her voice cheery. _I am so not a morning person. Where's the caffeine?_

Within ten minutes, Thia was washed and dressed and entering the Great Hall with Kurama. Of the rest of the group, there was no sign. So they ate in silence until Genkai came in, dragging a loudly protesting Yusuke by the ear. Tagging along was a yawning Kuwabara.

"YOU WILL NOT SKIP CLASS, DO YOU HEAR ME, YUSUKE? DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO TELL KAYKO?" she shouted at him.

"Ow, ow! I GET IT ALREADY!"

"DON'T YELL BACK AT TEACHERS!" The elderly woman let go of her apprentice's ear and walked over to where Kurama and Thianadel.

"Master Genkai," Kurama greeted her in his usual gentle voice.

"Hello, Suichi. And you're Thianadel. I knew Robin from way back. It's a pleasure to finally meet his apprentice."

"I'm honored to meet you, Master Genkai. Robin spoke of you with the highest respect."

"Is that so? Well, I believe that I'll be seeing you both in class, so until then, remember." _Remember the mission. Be on your guard._

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'm Professor Genkai, your teacher for this year. Now all of you put away your books for now. I'm going to give you a lecture right now, so if you're not serious about this class and you're only going to fall asleep, I suggest you leave now." Yusuke rose from his seat, only to sit again after Genkai gave him her glare.

"The number one rule that you must always remember is to always be on your guard. Never underestimate the enemy! It will only lead to your undoing."

The lecture reminded Harry eerily of how the imposter Moody had taught them in their fourth year: always with an emphasis on vigilance. He whispered this thought to Ron, who wrote him back a note reading _She's__ in the Order. She's pretty scary when she's mad._

This was quickly justified when she rounded on her favorite student: "YUSUKE, YOU DIMWIT, WAKE UP! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS SPEECH A THOUSAND TIMES, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR IT A THOUSAND MORE UNTIL YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!"

"Jeez, lady, yell a little louder!" Though this had, in fact, been the thought that crossed everyone's minds, no one would have ever _dreamed_ of saying it aloud. At this point, in any other classroom, complete and utter silence would fill the room. Considering this was Genkai and she had no tolerance whatsoever for impertinence, though, the shouting only got louder (if that was possible).

"DETENTION! AND DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET OUT OF THIS!" Genkai took a breath. "And will Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter please stop passing notes?"

"Hey, how come you don't yell at them?!"

"SHUT UP, YOU BRAT!"

 "Grandma thinks she can give me detention on the first day... Jeez."

"Wait, Professor Genkai is your grandmother?" Hermione asked, astonished.

"Well, not technically. It's just kinda to make fun of her age, I guess."

"I really don't understand why she let you yell back at her. I mean, all of the other teachers would have taken fifty points from Gryffindor for that type of thing!"

"Ah, whatever. I'm blowing this joint," Yusuke said, before strolling to the nearest staircase.

"Hey, Urameshi, you can't do that! What if Genkai finds out? She'll whip your butt!" Kuwabara called after his friend.

"And who'll tell her? Oh." Yusuke looked around Kuwabara to Hermione. "I hate it when you blow my plans, you know that? Ch. What class do we have next anyway?"

"Uh... I think we have Double Charms with the Ravenclaws. Suichi and Thia."

"Great." Yusuke was just ever so enthusiastic.

 "Very good! That's the lesson for today. Remember to do the homework!" Professor Flitwick said, concluding the lesson for that day. The students got up and walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

"So, how are you finding the first day so far?" Hermione courteously asked.

"Interesting, I suppose."

"Yeah, it's different," Thianadel replied.

"Nah. Not really."

"That's only because you slept through all of the classes, Urameshi," reminded Kuwabara.

"If you think that's boring, you haven't been to History of Magic. Are you taking it this year?" Ron asked. He, like Harry, had thought about becoming an Auror, and therefore didn't have to take the most boring course of all. Taught by a ghost named Professor Binns, History of Magic was such a boring subject that even Hermione sometimes had trouble staying awake.

Consulting their schedules, the four said in unison, "No."

"How about Potions?"

"Yeah."

"That Snape... A poisonous toadstool, I tell you. Even though he's in the O- uh, nevermind," Ron quickly amended. Hermione and Harry, extremely alarmed at the near-slip, looked as if they wanted to murder their carrot-haired friend.

"See ya later, guys," Kuwabara said, waving as Kurama and Thianadel went off in the direction of the Ravenclaw table.

Hiei was nowhere to be seen.

At the Gryffindor table, the four boys gulped down food like air.

"That's just disgusting," Hermione said, turning away from the spectacle to eat with decency.

"Ooshda gnoosta t fter ixyrs!" was Ron's reply. This, translated, meant, 'You should have gotten used to it after six years!'

"It's still disgusting." At least she had gotten used to the secret language that had resulted of the food-cramming.

At the Ravenclaw table, Kurama was ignoring all of the stares he was receiving from various people. Thianadel was trying to concentrate on eating her food, but the pounding in her head was getting too much to bear.

With a slight groan, she put her head on her hand and tried to clear her mind.

"Do you not feel well?" Kurama's query was answered with a slight and painful shake of the girl's head.

"Caffeine withdrawal. Dammit. Where's the SODA?!"

"Ah." Thia raised her head to look suspiciously at Kurama.

"'Ah' what?"

"'Ah' nothing."

"Hmm."

"Does that 'hmm' have a meaning?"

"Yeah. It means that I believe that 'Ah' meant something."

"The 'Ah' meant absolutely nothing, I assure you."

"No, it meant something. Otherwise you wouldn't have said it, now would you?"

"Fine then. The 'Ah' was an exclamation of enlightenment."

"Enlightenment about what, pray tell?"

"Enlightenment on the subject that you are a caffeine addict."

"There you go, I knew that 'Ah' meant something. But it's like pulling teeth with you, Suichi."

"You do realize that we have been talking nonsense for approximately 45 seconds?"

"Yes, quite. And it's really helped."

"Talking nonsense helped the plight of the caffeine withdrawal?"

"You and I know perfectly well that that was all a distraction. If you distract yourself from pain it hardly hurts. Mind over matter. It's very basic and I know that you know it." Thia sat with a satisfied smile on her face and an eyebrow cocked. Kurama laughed.

**_Responses:_**

_Shadowkitsune I feel so bad for Kurama! I'll admit, the first YYH episode I saw was the one when Kurama helps Yusuke defeat Hiei. I didn't know he was a guy until Botan said, "Settle down now, boys." I'm so ashamed of myself!_

_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters Thank you-thank you!_

_xKitsunex 1: ROFL Okay, must stop laughing... That pic's just HILARIOUS! 2:Most of the time when I'm writing about Yusuke and Kuwabara, I just think of what my brothers would do... exasperated sigh and sweat-drop The four of them (Yusuke, Kuwabara, and my bros) are very similar. THANKS!_

_slave2anime pokes Thia Hey! Didja hear that! You're a "perfect" OC!  Stop poking me! Yes, I noticed the Hufflepuff thing. evil grin_

_Rose Wow! Lotses 'n lotses of questions! These'll all be answered in good time. Some of them are in this chapter, in fact! And thank you!!!_

Author's Notes: Well, I'm a little too giddy for my own good today. (A side-effect of caffeine, sugar, and great reviews.) Yes, I know that this chapter was very irrelevant to the plot... or so it seems. It's really just to show that the Yu Yu gang is really starting to fit in... even if it is just their first day. But what about Hiei? Where in the bloody hell did he run off to??? Thanks to all of my faithful readers!!! If it's not too much trouble, would you drop a line or two in my review box???


	7. Hiei's Complaints and a Talk

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter (though owning Oliver Wood and Kurama sounds pretty nice.)

A.N.: That's right, people, today you're getting two chapters for the price of one! Chapters 6 and 7, all in one day! No batteries required, void where prohibited, offer expires when the next chapter is posted!

Chapter 7: Hiei's Complaints and a Talk

Days passed without very much difference. The key words being 'very' and 'much'. On Friday, after Slytherin had lost a total of 75 points due to his absence, Genkai dragged Hiei into the Great Hall, the latter carrying on even worse than Yusuke had in the same situation.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU HAG! I NEVER WANTED TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" rang out across the hall. It was quite unnerving to see Hiei this, well, freaked out.

"FINE!" Genkai let go of his ear. They glared at each other.

"Hiei, calm down. Think this over carefully," Kurama quietly advised, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't do anything foolish."

"I'm sick of following that fool's orders. I'm not his lackey," Hiei poisonously retorted, not loud enough for anyone but Kurama to hear. The red-head only sighed, knowing full well that Hiei had Koenma in mind.

"Mr. Urameshi and Mr. Kuwabara, please follow me. Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you in his office," Professor McGonagall told the two students as they tried to concentrate on doing homework. They, like Ron and Harry, had only succeeded in titling their pieces of parchment and were currently staring at Hermione expectantly. It was almost unsettling how similar the two groups of boys were from the back. Carrot-colored locks and raven-colored locks. One tall and one shorter. One was the hero and the other was his trusted sidekick. And in both pairs, one was a Boy Who Lived.

The two new boys barely even flickered an eyelid, but the other three exchanged glances as if to say, _What__ could they have done in a week?_ They waited until Yusuke and Kuwabara had gone out of the door before they began to converse.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd?" Hermione asked.

"What? Oh, odd, yeah. Real odd." Ron nodded furiously, tapping the end of his quill on the sheet of parchment.

"You don't even know what I'm taking about. What I meant was, if the boys are from Japan and the girl is from America, how could Genkai have been their master? I doubt that she'd want to fly that often. And I don't think that she's the type of person who Apparates very often."

"I think you're just being too nit-picky," Ron declared. Hermione shot him a death glare.

"No, I think Hermione's onto something, Ron. Their friend, Hiei. Isn't it weird that he got into Slytherin?"

"Oh yeah..."

"And when Harry asked Yusuke about it, he changed the subject, remember?"

"Oh yeah... But still, it doesn't mean that they're all bad, does it? Genkai's in the you-know-what, so her students can't all be bad, can they? Maybe that Hiei fellow's got a hidden agenda or something."

"Well, anyway, we've just got to keep a close eye on them. You never know..."

 "Thank you very much for coming," Albus Dumbledore said when Koenma's team had arrived.

"It's not like we had a choice, now was it?" Hiei asked in his usual belligerent manner. Dumbledore only chuckled.

"What is the reason for this meeting? We know what our mission is and it would be ill-advised to call any attention to us." Thianadel's tone was as unemotional as when they Spirit Detective and his group had heard it in Koenma's office. "And forgive my saying so, sir, but that's exactly what your sending has done."

Dumbledore became serious at once. "You need not ask for pardon, Miss Sherwood. I am quite aware of the risks that summoning you could have. However, I am also aware that each of you is especially equipped to handle any of the dangers that might result. My reasoning for calling you all here is simply that I want you to be on high alert. It is unfortunate that at least one of you was not Sorted into each house, and so Hufflepuff is left without a guardian. And though you may be prepared for terrible occurrences, I highly doubt that you know the exact danger of this situation. For the past five years, things have gone from bad to worse and beyond. Two years ago, a student died, and I will admit it to you, I am terrified of what another death might bring. And since Voldemort has been recruiting a large amount different races and beings to his cause, the risk of losing another student has increased greatly. Dementors, wizards, and other beings have been flocking to the Dark Lord to assist him. The alliance of the demons to Voldemort's cause is only the latest news, but certainly not the last news. My only consolation is that he only knows a portion of the prophecy regarding him and Harry Potter."

"That was such a waste of time."

"You said it, Kuwabara," Yusuke grumbled. At least this gave him an excuse not to do his homework.

"What a pathetic human," was Hiei's remark.

"But yet they say he's the only one Voldemort ever feared." Kurama shook his head as though to clear his head.

"That's what it is," Thia whispered.

"Excuse me?" came the sharp rejoinder from the short fire demon.

"There's something wrong with the picture that he gave to us. I'm fairly sure you'll see what it is. He said _'The alliance of the demons to Voldemort's cause...'_ That's not all that accurate, is it?"

Something clicked in Hiei's brain. "We demons ally ourselves with no one..."

"...unless we are receiving something in return," finished Kurama.

"So this Voldy-guy is buying off demons to work for him. All that's missing is what the bribe is."

"Why can't we ever have a mission that's cut and dry, plain and simple?"

"I hear ya, Kuwabara," Yusuke sighed, and the group split, all heading towards their separate houses.

Author's Notes: As you can see, I'm going by the books' description of Ron and Harry rather than the movies'. Isn't it ironic how Ron and Kuwabara, Harry and Yusuke, and Hermione and Kayko are all so alike? And as you can see, I'm referring to Yusuke as the _other_ Boy Who Lived, though technically he's the Boy-Who-Died-and-Was-Returned-to-Life. Confusing. Aaaaaaanyway... Review, please! Flames are welcomed as well. I store them up to use on a cold winter's day.


	8. Hogsmeade and Irony

DISCLAIMER: I'm not gonna impersonate J.K. Rowling or the person who created Yu Yu Hakusho, dammit! I don't own HP or YYH, all right?! Now stop rubbing it in!

And now, since you asked for it, I'm going to post up my intended pairings, though they coooould change if I get a humongous brainstorm that leads the romance off in another direction.

Hints of a Ron-Hermione (as you'll see in this chapter) and a subtle Kurama-Thia. Yeah, I know just about every Kurama fangirl does one of these, but what can I say? The temptation is just too strong.

Chapter 8: Hogsmeade and Irony

"Hogsmeade! C'mon people, let's have some fun!" Thia yelled, grinning from ear to ear.

"Your friend's a little, uh... energetic," Harry commented to his fellow Gryffindor as they looked around the magical village.

"No. She's a little insane."

"Shut up, Yusuke," the girl in question threw at him over her shoulder.

"Why don't we all head over to Three Broomsticks?" Hermione suggested, and began to head in that direction. The rest followed.

"So, Hiei. How's Slytherin?" Ron took a chance and asked. The three-eyed demon gave him a cold look-over. Hermione and Harry gave their friend glares as well. Their skepticism about Hiei's nature was not intended to be brought to light.

"If you're thinking of using me as a spy, don't count on it."

"Oh, no- that is- I-"

"Don't make excu-" Kurama clapped his hand over his friend's mouth and rushed to apologize: "Don't mind Hiei, he's a little paranoid at times. It's nothing, really."

"You don't have to apologize for him, Suichi. It's clear where his intentions lie." Eyes near to slits, Hermione gave the little demon a _look_.

Sixteen glasses of butterbeer, thirty-two pounds' worth of Honeydukes candy, and ten Galleons' worth of Zonko's prank equipment later, the eight Hogwarts students sauntered into the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Hermione and Thia were talking animatedly about this class and that class, with interjections from other members of the group every so often. The boys were gossiping as only boys can gossip and sniggering behind their hands. Hiei and Kurama passed words now and then. And then finally they had to part ways and sit at their separate tables.

"Eh, Hiei, I thought you said you didn't want to be associated with that filth," Malfoy said maliciously. Apparently he wasn't totally over the 'queer' thing.

"Hn. Your minuscule brain probably won't comprehend what I tell you right now, but please bear with me. I don't wish to be associated with weaklings like Potter or you. Yusuke Urameshi and Suichi Minamino are different matters, and therefore worthy of my attention. But once again, your mind is incapable of understanding such a thing." Hiei turned away, clearly dismissing the blonde boy.

"Why you-" was the strangled and furious reply. Crabbe and Goyle looked to their leader and, seeing the utter rage written upon otherwise fine features, they took this as a sign that they would have to trounce the puny-looking offender. Both boys rose from their seats in a menacing manner, only to plop back down when the food arrived.

"G'night!" Stomachs full to the exploding point, Harry, Hermione, and Ron resisted the urge to return to their dormitories to fall straight to sleep. It was understood that there were quite a few things to talk about. Finally, when everyone else had gone to bed, Harry broached the subject.

"Maybe Hiei's playing both sides."

"Do you really think so? I mean, do you really think he's that innocent? He's probably going to let all hell loose on Hogwarts! Or what if-"

"Ron, just because he's suspicious of everyone and everything doesn't mean that he's Voldemort." Hermione, who had given up on saying 'You-Know-Who' last year, watched as Ron gave a great shudder.

"Then why'd he get into Slytherin?!"

"Maybe he's got a past or something. How am _I_ supposed to know?"

"And why are you defending the little brute?! _You _were the one who said, 'We've got to keep an eye on them!" Ron snapped angrily in a mockingly high pitched voice.

"If the others have faith in Hiei, then so do I!"

"You- you- you mean if _Suichi_ has faith in him, then so do you!" The carrot-head's ears were turning red very quickly and both their voices were rising.

"What is that supposed to mean, Ron?!"

"It means exactly how it sounds! _You_ think that Minamino's right just because- because-"

"BECAUSE WHAT, RON?!"

_Don't answer her Ron, don't-_

"BECAUSE YOU THINK HE'S _ATTRACTIVE_!"

Harry decided that now would be a great time to leave. The other two hardly noticed, as they were yelling in each other's faces. As Harry settled into bed, he heard wisps of their screaming, such as, "Whatever happened to Vicky?!"

How very like his best friends.

Kurama sat alone in the Ravenclaw common room, scrawling out the last of his homework. Easy, yes, but that was because Potions wasn't all that hard for him. It was very much like science in regular human school. And, as he knew what many (if not all) of the ingredients were, it was a snap.

He tidied up his papers and stashed them neatly in his bag. Everything was just the way it had been when he'd come in. He sat back on the sofa and finally allowed his mind to wander from his schoolwork.

He missed his mother. She sent things to him every so often, but he had conveniently 'forgotten' to leave the address, so therefore, she had to pass things along to Shizuru for them to reach him. And anyway, letters were no match to actually hearing and seeing her.

At school, Kaitou had sworn to write everything down for him so that he could catch up to the rest of the students. Though, as Kaitou had said, "I highly doubt that falling behind is a concern you need worry about, Suichi."

His thoughts rested next on the mission. So far, sending them here had been positively useless. Nothing, contrary to Dumbledore's fear, had happened at all, in fact. Again, what was Potter's whole attraction that made this wizard want to kill him? Revenge. The fact that a baby could defeat the so-called greatest wizard on earth was hardly believable and if Kurama had been in Voldemort's place, he certainly would have wanted to kill Harry. There was also that prophecy that the headmaster had mentioned in passing. Perhaps that might have something to do with it... And what if Harry was killed by Voldemort rather than the opposite? How wide-spread might the effects be? Would Voldemort be able to achieve world domination? Would Spirit World intervene?

If Voldemort did win, the first one on his hit list would have to be Yusuke. If there was anyone who wanted to protect the world, it was Yusuke Urameshi, and right behind him was Kuwabara. Kurama would do anything to protect his mother, and therefore, would also rally against Voldemort.

It was so strange to be making all of these plans even before the event had happened!

And yet, it was the truth. The Order of the Phoenix and the Spirit Detective team were both ready to give their all to protect the world from the clutches of a single evil being.

Kurama wondered if Thianadel counted herself as one of the team. She was certainly qualified, as she had studied under a known and apparently respected psychic and though she had been trained to mask her spirit energy, sometimes it would flare involuntarily, revealing to Kurama the incredible amount of it she had. She was quite intelligent, as well, and intensely serious about school. He remembered the one day in early October that she had had to fly back to New York because the tests to gain entrance into the specific high schools were that day.

_"I'm going, mission or not."_

Defiant and sarcastic, but also watchful and intense, she had her bouts of utter silliness, as was shown in the ridiculous conversation that they had on the first day. Yet sometimes she sat silently, thinking, until someone snapped her out of it.__

"And you're sitting in the common room doing absolutely nothing... why?" Thia watched Kurama from the stairs leading up to the girls' dormitory.

"I was thinking."

"Ah."

Kurama grinned at her.

"'Ah' what?"

"Ha ha. Now go to bed before you fall asleep in class. And don't think I won't let you sleep just to see you get detention." Thia smiled wickedly and went back into her dorm.

Later that night (or shall we say morning?), in the Gryffindor 6th year boys' dormitory, two of the boys couldn't sleep, though both tried their hardest to pretend they were.

Harry Potter, the first insomniac, was thinking. Thinking about Sirius and his parents. Those were the two subjects that plagued his dreams almost as often as nightmares about Lord Voldemort. He had tried not to think about anything but schoolwork for the last week, but now... It was impossible not to think about them. Harry missed Sirius badly and could not bear to think of what had happened just months prior. He wanted revenge upon Voldemort more than anything in the world for what had befallen his parents and Sirius at the will of the Dark Lord. These thoughts filled his head until finally, the 16-year-old fell asleep.

Yusuke, on the other hand, was homesick. He missed his mother, he missed Kayko (especially Kayko!), hell, he even missed regular school! Hogwarts and magic didn't come as easily to him as fighting, even though magic and spirit energy were supposedly quite alike. Maybe it was that he hadn't been here as long as the others. Still, Thia and Kurama seemed to be getting all of the stuff. And contrary to popular belief, Yusuke didn't _try_ to fall asleep. It occurred naturally. Except for right now, that is.

Something swished.

Maybe he was hearing things, but Yusuke could've sworn-

_Swish._

The wind? No. It couldn't be. Yusuke heard Harry groan in his sleep and turn over. Seconds ticked by and Yusuke relaxed his grip on the wand beneath the pillow.

_Swish._ And then a faint clatter, quickly muffled. The hand beneath the pillow tightened quickly.

_What's the spell, what's the spell, what's the DAMN SPELL?!_

Hiei sat up in the four-poster bed. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Soundlessly, he unwound the bandana from around his forehead.

Kurama slipped into the girls' dormitory with the ease of the thief he once was. A trap staircase would have been no match for Yoko Kurama, and so it was no match for Suichi Minamino. He shook Thianadel's shoulder, one hand over her mouth.

"Come." The single whispered word, barely uttered, woke the girl up about as much as a glass of soda.

The Jagan, the third eye of the spirit, searched for the danger that lurked somewhere on the grounds. And then-

A pinprick of pain. It was an annoying pain, directed at the center of the Jagan, and it didn't fade as quickly as it should. Hiei nearly growled.

Then he saw it. A figure at the very borders of Hogwarts. Swathed in shadows and darkness, it waited.

 "_Lumos_!" Yusuke exclaimed, and the tip of the wand shone, illuminating the entire room. _Hey, I actually remembered it! _There it was, a figure in a black cloak, standing over Harry. The stunned person turned towards Yusuke, who immediately dove at it.

By this time, the rest of the dorm had woken up and was either running for help or, like Yusuke, pouncing on the intruder.

Kuwabara ambushed the person from behind and held them down as Yusuke pulled off the hood. It was a middle-aged man of average height and below average weight. His wand, half-way across the room, was kicked into a corner where he couldn't get at it.

"Well who the hell are you?"

The man spat at Yusuke's feet.

The darkness was complete, but there were flickers here and there of things moving.

"Help?" Kurama whispered, and then touched her and himself in question. Thia poked him back as her answer.

With his usual stealth and grace, Kurama sneaked out of Ravenclaw and into the dark and winding halls of Hogwarts castle.

Thianadel hesitated a moment, but began to concentrate her energy.

 "What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall had to shout over the commotion. Soon, what came into view were the two new boys, Koenma's agents. The taller held a cloaked figure in his grasp, and the other had a hard look upon his face. His arm was raised for a punch. Beside him stood Potter, who had a fistful of the person's robes in his hand, revealing-

"Oh my... Someone send for Professor Dumbledore!"

Author's Notes: PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! My brain has been on overdrive lately (just look at the size of this chapter!), but now I'm nursing a bit of writer's block... Cliffies are EVIL and I wish to rid the world of them, but I have to use this one... It's humongous and it's as evil as Voldemort himself, but what can I say?!?! NOOOO! Please, my loyal readers... STAY WITH ME! For though it is widely disputed, the recommended cure for the "incurable" writer's block is to go out and watch all of my YYH DVD's again! And good reviews also tend to set my brain on high gear...(hint, hint)

****

**_Responses:_**

_Katzztar Thanks! I kinda didn't see the point of putting Kazuma in Hufflepuff. After all, if he has all the traits of a Gryffindor, why shouldn't he be put there? I kind of like toying with Kuwabara because he's such a hilarious character, and it'd be a shame not to give him any of the credit he deserves by not writing him as often as Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, or the others._

_Bar-Ohki LOL... I have a few...surprises...for the rest of the Slytherins... evil grin_

_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters Thanks again!_

_Kuramakicksass Love the name! Thank you, and as you can see, I've put up my intended couplings._

_slave2anime Thank you!!! Yeah, that's true, but they've both got pretty hot tempers. And as for Malfoy... evil laughter That's in chapter 10..._

_DaftSage I guess that was kind of to make up for this very dispicable cliffie. I hope you get better!!!_


	9. Tattoos and Veritaserum

Author's (First) Notes: THE AWAITED CHAPTER IS HERE! Not that you had to wait all that long. I worked all night on this just so that my loyal readers would not die of suspense. Well, today, as opposed to putting the replies last, I'm putting them first! Just a spur of the moment thing (I'm prone to doing that)...Wow, you people really like Hiei's bandana, don't you? Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve such good reviewers!

**_Responses:_**

_Falcon-sama Thank you! O.o Have you been hanging out with __Firenze__ or Trelawney? You hit one thing straight on the head in your predictions!_

_Melody89 Ooh! Antenna!_

_Mike the Great The Lord of the Rings! swoons Okay...I'll see what I can do about your need for a fight...and it's really me that has to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!_

_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan Thank you! And Into the West... I admit, I hum that at extremely random moments (ex: during a test) because I love it so much... I can't wait until Book Six comes out!!!_

_phinixofthezodiac Thanks!_

_Slave2anime Whatever you throw my way is fine! Constructive criticism, reviews, rants...I just like to hear what y'all think...and I like getting the mail. Yay! Thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you!_

_Shadowkitsune Thanx! A little more Hiei, coming up...would you like fries with that? Jp._

_Rose THANKS SOOOO MUCH! I have the sneaking suspicion that the house elves do all of the cooking and therefore Dumbledore, not wanting to offend them, doesn't want to risk importing Krispy Kremes. :( Hmm...in a Trelawney-like voice Voldemort's motives will become clear within time... Hermione's look means 'I'll trust you...for now. Be frightened...' About the months thing: Oopsie! I knew there was a part I forgot to revise! Hey! My YYH DVD's! hugs them They're among my most prized possessions, along with my seven stuffed bunnies and my Harry Potter books... Pretty DVD's!_

DISCLAIMER: YU YU HAKUSHO AND HARRY POTTER DO NOT BELONG TO ME! DO YOU HEAR ME?! Sob

Chapter 9: Tattoos and Veritaserum

When Kurama came back with the said help, he found that the intruder had been disarmed and bound by rings of glowing green energy.

"Finally." Thianadel stifled a yawn.

"Would you bring him closer, Miss Sherwood?" Professor Flitwick (a.n.: I'm assuming he's the Ravenclaw head of house... I don't think they say in the books) asked cautiously. He seemed a bit stunned at her display. Slowly the Charms teacher examined the unconscious man, possibly searching for weapons.

"Here's his wand. He dropped it when I bound him."

"Both of you run along and tell Professor Dumbledore. The entire school must be alerted, I imagine!" No sooner had Kurama and Thia reached the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room than they met Dumbledore, looking grave and followed by two other members of the staff.

"I assume that Gryffindor was not the only house with trespassers, then?"

"That's right, sir."

"Would both of you gather up the rest of your house-mates and lead them down to the Great Hall, then?"

"Yessir, but what about Hufflepuff?"

"They were the first to be evacuated, Miss Sherwood."

"Oh. All right."

 "So, Yusuke, we heard that there was an intruder in the Gryffie house. Anything worth anything?" Thia rubbed her eyes tiredly. It had been... wow, two months since she'd last used her Spirit Energy, and it had taken a bit out of her to stretch her muscles.

"Hmh. A softie. What about Ravenclaw?"

"It took the space an eyeblink."

"Did you see if there was anything on the idiot's left arm?"

"Mr. Urameshi, Miss Sherwood, and Mr. Minamino, get back to your designated areas! This is sleep time, not social time," Snape snapped at the three of them.

"Yessir."

Thia pondered on Yusuke's last question, and tried to remember if she'd seen the stranger's arm at all. No...Wait, yes she had! It had been tattooed in two places, she recalled. One, on the forearm, was a skull with a serpent inside. The second was inked on the wrist, and from what Thia could dredge up from her memory, it had had some sort of knife or sword depicted on it.

But sleep was claiming her and she couldn't think any further.

 "What do you think this means?" Hermione broke out suddenly at breakfast, unable to take the silence that was practically radiating from Ron and Harry. Apparently, she had forgotten about the fight she'd had with Ron. Neither of them was eating very much, and it was quite unnerving. But the strange circumstances didn't deter Yusuke and Kuwabara from shoveling food into their huge mouths.

"It means that the Death Eaters have somehow found their way into the school."

"But that's impossible! No one can Apparate onto Hogwarts grounds! It's-"

"Hey, Yusuke! Tell me, above the guy's wrist, what was the picture that was there?" Thia rushed out, eyes darting around to see if any of the teachers were going to send her to her own house's table.

"Zuvvan ifena loud."

"English, please? What, did you lose the charm? Those cost a lot of money, you know! If-"

"It was of a knife piercing a cloud with blood raining down," Harry interjected.

"Thanks, Harry. You're sure it was blood?"

"Positive."

"Could you draw it for me?" Thia held out a pen and parchment to him when he nodded. After he had finished, she studied it for a moment before nodding.

"Yep. That's the one. Okay, thanks for the help!"

"Wait, what do you need that for?"

"Just checking it against my memory. Now I have to-"

"Miss Sherwood, get back to your table!"

"-go."

"Puu! Puu!"

"Uh-oh. Is that what it sounds like, Urameshi?"

And then, the incredible flying Puu descended upon Yusuke's head.

"You tell me, Kuwabara." The said person reached over and snatched Puu off of Yusuke. It was then that they realized that the entire hall was staring at the little blue wonder.

"Er...Is that really an owl?" Harry wanted to know, staring at the thing in Kuwabara's arms.

"Nah, it looks more like a penguin. A blue one."

"Don't be stupid, Ron. Penguins don't fly." Still, Hermione gaped at it. "Maybe it's a new species. Like a cross between a penguin and...er...something that flies."

"Grrr...STOP STARING AT IT!"

"Kuwabara, untie the letters already."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING, URAMESHI!? Okay, here's one for me. And one for me. And two for you. And- WHAT?! Six for Suichi?!"

"I'll take those, thank you." Ron, who had not forgotten yesterday night's fight, glared at Kurama's retreating back.

It was then that Hiei decided to walk into the Great Hall, one hand holding a man by the collar of his robes and the other on his hip.

"Where do I put _this_?"

The three prisoners were locked in the dungeons with Professor Snape. All were bound by chains and ropes and the two who were conscious gave the Potions master dirty looks. He only sneered back.

"Ah, Severus. You have the Veritaserum ready?" Dumbledore asked, sweeping into the room with Kurama on his left and Kuwabara on his right. The others, who hadn't drawn the right lots, were back in their classes (or at least they were supposed to be).

"Yes, headmaster." From the depths of his robe, Snape produced a bottle of clear liquid. He stood from his chair and, prying open the first intruder's mouth, poured three drops of its contents down his throat.

"Who is it that you work for?" Dumbledore asked in a soft voice.

"I work for Lord Tsurin."

A resounding thought went through the room. _Lord Tsurin? Who is Tsurin?_

"Who is Lord Tsurin and what is his business with Lord Voldemort?" Snape twitched.

"Don't tell 'im!" the second intruder hissed.

"Lord Tsurin is our master. We don't know much about where he comes from. We only follow orders. But we know that he's very powerful. Has friends in high places, he does. He's allied the Dark Lord 'cause he's got something our lord wants."

"G'dammit, hadda tell, didn't ya? He'll be mad, he will." Yusuke itched, positively itched, to hit this person. Instead, Snape pointed with his wand and muttered, _'Silencio.'_

"What does Tsurin want?"

"How're we supposed to know? We're only henchmen, we are."

"What are the tattoos on your arm symbolic of?"

"The first one is the Dark Mark of the Death Eaters. It's useless, it is, for us demons. Don't pay any mind to it when it itches. But the second is the mark of my lord. Means that my lord'll rain death on the Earth, it does. Hurts something fierce when he needs us." _Itches? ITCHES?!_ Snape thought, unintentionally rubbing his left forearm.

"How is it you are in human form?" Kurama asked curiously.

"Some kind of spe- Agh!" The three prisoners writhed in their chairs, trying desperately to reach their wrists. As the four interrogators soon saw, there was a sort of sickly yellowish smoke rising from the death clouds, and the skin surrounding it was starting to dissolve.

"Ooh, yeeee-eeew!" Kuwabara yelped, clasping his hands over his mouth and turning around. Kurama, Snape, and Dumbledore only looked on, grim and sickened at the lack of loyalty Lord Tsurin had towards his men.

Author's Notes: If I have any readers left after my abominable cliffhanger, then I must thank you! See! Watching all of my YYH DVD's again really does cure writer's block!!! Well, that combined with great reviews and re-reading the Harry Potter books (I'm almost finished re-reading number 5). I sincerely hope that you all didn't get _too_ grossed out at the death scene of the three intruders...I tend to have an expansive imagination about torture and death scenes...Aaaaanyway, review, please!


	10. Revenge, Detention, and Matches

**_Responses:_**

_Mike the Great HAPPY?! jp. Thank you!_

_Kuramakicksass Thank you... I have been trying to include a lot of detail about all of the other houses, not to mention Hufflepuff in one of the future chapters. So, have no fear! Slytherin will be getting some action._

_melody89 Thank you!_

_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan Thanks! And yes, I am an obsessed and crazed YYH-HP fanatic, though my mother has warned me multiple times that my fixation on both will result in some kind of catastrophe... Needless to say, I don't listen to her very often._

_Slave2anime I hope that this addiction isn't as bad as caffeine addiction..._

_Katzztar Hmmm, an interesting theory!_

_Shadowkitsune Um...I'm not quite sure about that...Good try, though!_

_Slave2anime, Falcon-sama, and anyone else who waited for this chapter to see Malfoy get what he deserves Here you go! I hope y'all enjoy!_

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, though I swear that I'll love both until the end of time... I think. Well, I'll like Kurama and Hiei and Oliver Wood and Sirius (tear...) and Cedric Diggory (tear...) until the end of time, anyway. Oh, and I don't own _The Young and the Hopeless_ either. That's Good Charlotte.

Chapter 10: Revenge, Detention, and Matches

Malfoy was plotting revenge. Not upon Potter, goodness knows the security around that boy was too tight. No. This was going to be upon the short Goth boy who was a friend of a friend of a friend of Potter's. And Lord knows it would be a revenge to be remembered. He, Draco Malfoy, would make this Hiei boy regret the day that he heard the name Hogwarts (like Hiei didn't already).

The first thing that Malfoy did was to plant Dungbombs beneath the covers of Hiei's bed right before he went to sleep.

The next morning, it was not Hiei who woke up to a noseful of the horrid stench and filth.

After cleaning himself up and going down to breakfast in a foul mood, Malfoy decided on another plan of action: getting Hiei into detention as soon and as often as possible. The perfect plot came to him during Potions.

"Professor Snape, I was wondering about a certain rule that may have been breached. Why is it that all the rest of us aren't allowed to wear ornaments on our heads besides hats when Hiei gets to wear that bandana around his head?" (a.n.: I'm assuming this is a rule because in the fourth book McGonagall says, "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair.")

Snape looked from Malfoy to Hiei (who was all the way at the back of the room) in a mild state of surprise and back to Malfoy. Then, in an even tone, he replied, "That is none of your concern, Mr. Malfoy. There is a regarding Mr. Hiei's dress code and you are not privy to it."

"But sir, I don't think that's fa-"

"I never knew you to be a snitch, Mr. Malfoy."

Malfoy went into slight shock. He'd thought that Snape would side with _him_, not some newcomer!

Lunchtime was perfect. The stage was set, and the players were ready. Malfoy lazed around, totally and utterly satisfied with himself and his brilliant plan. He glanced over to where the short Hiei was starting to rise and made a motion to the rest of his cronies. Up all of them went, following Hiei at a distance until they were out of the Great Hall. And then they surrounded him, all huge and hefty Slytherins rounding in for an easy kill.

"Foolish imbeciles." Hiei's scarlet eyes were scanning the crowd around him, fully alert of every move that his fellow Slytherins made. Each of them had their wands out and were ready to hex him in any way possible.

"Not so tough now, hm, Hiei?"

"Hn."

"What, does Mr. Sleep-talk have nothing to say about his little predicament?"

"Does nothing ever enter that diminutive mind of yours, Malfoy?"

"Diminutive?! Look at who's talking! Big man, eh?"

Without a word, Hiei's hand wandered towards the katana at his waist. He had drawn it in a single smooth motion and was about to cleanly slice off the blonde boy's head when the crowd of Slytherins was dispersed by Genkai, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Detention, Malfoy. And don't give me that face. Anyone with half a brain can see that this was a setup. Now get moving!" she barked, and Draco scampered off, foiled once again.

"I don't need you help, hag," Hiei shot at her.

"I just saved your ass from eternity in Koenma's dungeon, you ungrateful punk. Now get to class."

"Professor Genkai! I...said I was...sorry!" Malfoy yelled in a strangled voice at the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Detention with Genkai was...different. Twenty-five laps around the Quidditch field, a hundred and fifteen push-ups, and twenty sit-ups to top it all off. Malfoy had no idea how she was keeping such good speed when he was barely plodding along. And this was only his fifth time around the field!

"Sorry doesn't cut it, you slacker! Jeez, I thought you were bad," she muttered, catching up to Yusuke, who was serving detention for the third time that week. All in all he'd been given eighteen detentions, most of them from Genkai.

"Yeah, well I'm not some snotty rich kid now am I?" was the retort.

"Did you remember to tell Kuwabara and the others that if they want to practice, they can come here?"

"Yup."

The four other members of the team arrived soon after, all dressed in more functional clothing than the Hogwarts uniform. In the only girl's case, it meant having to used contacts.

"Finally some practice! I feel like a lazy lump," Thia commented unhappily.

"Don't get too happy about it. The Quidditch season has already started and there won't be any time to get the pitch. And speaking of lazy lumps, GET A MOVE ON IT, MALFOY! So are you going to join these two brats in detention or are you going to set up matches?"

"What's today's detention?" Genkai recited it to Kuwabara. "Um...I think matches are fine!"

"All right. So it'll be Thianadel versus Kuwabara and Kurama versus Hiei. Now-"

"Wait! Genkai! I can't hit a girl!!!"

Thia frowned a minute, but a sly smile appeared on her face within seconds. "It's all right, Kuwabara. You don't have to hit me. Just pretend, I guess." Kuwabara looked skeptical, but was eventually pushed into it.

"Now behave while I check up on Malfoy. GO!"

That said, Thia was immediately on the defensive. Her partner didn't move, though, and she had to go straight out and attack, something that she really didn't like to do very often. A feint to the right, a feint to the left, and up went her foot, straight into Kuwabara's jaw.

"HEY! I THOUGHT WE WERE USING FAKE PUNCHES!"

"Nope. _You're_ using fake punches. I said nothing about my attacks. Use your listening skills, if you have any. Now c'mon, are you really going to let a girl beat you?"

"What?! Why you- NO! I won't be provoked in-" _Slam _went Thia's foot into Kuwabara's leg, causing it to buckle and he almost went down. Then he struck out with his fist, half-heartedly, and was easily blocked.

"Then so be it! Blame your honor code!"

From where Malfoy had slowed to a plod, he watched the two pairs fighting, one so fast it was simply a blur and the other a girl pushing around that carrot-haired oaf. From Malfoy's perspective, any boy could beat her in a snap, but apparently this one was a wimp!

"Are you beat up enough, Kuwabara?" Hiei asked all of a sudden. Malfoy hadn't even seen him and his sparring partner stop fighting.

"I'd say he is. Then again, I just want a change of partner."

"All right. Then Hiei versus Thianadel and Kurama versus Kuwabara."

"Make no mistake about it, human, I'm not afraid to hurt you," the little fire demon warned her before Genkai said, "GO!"

And that's when she began to hum. As Hiei sped around her, watching and ready to make his move, Thia began to hum, her head bobbing to the tune.

_Hard days made me/hard nights shaped me/I dunno this somehow saved me/and I know I'm makin' something/out of this life/they called nothing..._

And then an attack to her right, barely seen and barely dodged. Another hit to her right, this time more easily diverted.

_...I take what I want/take what I need/they say it's wrong but it's right for me/I won't look down/won't say I'm sorry/I know that only God can judge me..._

Her first attack upon the fire demon failed miserably, which was only to be expected. Not expected, though, was when she, predicting the way that he would move, managed to get a swipe at his arm.

_...And if I make it through today/will tomorrow be the same?/Am I just running in place?/And if I stumble and I fall/should I get up and carry on?/Will it all just be the same?_

A constant game of dodge ensued, neither getting a solid hit, only scrapes and slight bruises here and there, though Thia happened to be the one with more bangs. Malfoy was watching them, shock written upon his features. His plod had slowed down to a stand-still and Genkai had to yell in his ear to get him going again. How could he have underestimated Hiei? How could he have underestimated that girl?

_...Cause I'm young and I'm hopeless/I'm lost and I know this/I'm going nowhere fast that's what they say/I'm troublesome/I've fallen/I'm angry at my father..._

And then Hiei, sensing a weakness in Thia's defense, was able to get her just as she was executing a flip. In just seconds, his katana was drawn and pressed against her neck.

_"It's me against this world and I don't care!/I don't care..."_ Those last lines were sung out loud, not particularly in tune, but close enough. "Now get the damn sword off of my neck before you do any real damage."

Malfoy almost wet his pants at the thought of that blade pressed against his neck. Which, had Professor Genkai not stepped in, would probably have been the case.

Thank all things beautiful for Genkai and detention.

Author's Notes: Well, I didn't think that Malfoy would actually just sit out when revenge is so sweet, which is why I concocted this chapter (even though Malfoy usually goes crying to Daddy). Well, that and the fact that we can't have our favorite characters get lazy, now can we? And before anyone asks, the two reasons why I chose that song are: 1) It has a quick beat to it. 2) Any/all songs that Thia thinks or sings are related to her mood.

So... after those explanations, I have to make my mandatory plea for reviews. Please review! Flame, if you like! I just like getting mail! (wooooohooooo!)


	11. It's Christmas!

Here you all go! It's a rogueicephoenix special! CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!! And it's five days early, too!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and I don't own Harry Potter. And unless I can become like Mystique from X-Men, nor will I ever. I do own Ever-Freez Ice Cream, though, so HA!

Chapter 11: It's Christmas

For Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the days were like a constantly revolving door, always doing this or that with not much time to speak to each other or to puzzle over the fact that everything was so... normal... all of a sudden! It was December and Christmas was fast approaching. There had been no more intrusions and no other disruptions of the school year up to that point. It would have seemed strange, had anyone decided to think about it, but the only ones who did were Kurama and Thia, and only in passing.

_"There haven't been any attacks lately."_

_"And would you consider that to be a good thing or a bad thing?"_

_Thia gave Kurama a look, but quickly turned back to her homework. "Hm. That's hard. Not. It's got to be bad. It means that the lords are cooking up some kind of evil and...psychotic plan that won't turn out exactly right in the end but will have some kind of lasting effect on the entire wizarding world. You know, like them managing to take over Hogmeade and turning it into a headquarters for all that's evil and dispicable. How do you spell asthaenaijig root?"_

_"A-s-t-h-a-e-n-a-i-j-i-g.__ I agree with most of that. Though, the invasion and capture of Hogsmeade sounds unlikely."_

_"Yeah, I know. It's just my imagination running away from me. Spell check, please."_

Perhaps they should have been more watchful.

"Okay, so who else do you need to get a gift for?" Thia asked Hermione as they searched in one of the catalogues that the Weasley twins had created for their joke shop just for the holidays.

"I've finished. Oh, no, wait. I've got to get a pair of socks for Dobby."

"Lucky Dobby. And lucky Hermione for doing her shopping before the rest of us losers! I have to get gifts for Suichi and Hiei."

"Just give Hiei anything sweet," Kurama advised as he read over her shoulder.

"Sugar addict, huh? I never would've guessed. Now would you shoo? I can't buy stuff if you're hovering around."

"Am I not supposed to know what I'm getting for Christmas?"

"How presumptuous. No, you're not supposed to know what prank I'm going to pull on you on Christmas."

On Christmas morning, the sixth year boys in the Gryffindor dormitory woke up loudly. Possibly the loudest, however, were the two new ones, Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara. They were some of the first ones up and were tearing open packages of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans while the others were still having nightmares of dancing and man-eating sugarplums.

"Look Urameshi! An entire year's supply worth of DUNGBOMBS!"

"Yeah, same here! Imagine what Takenaka'll do if I set one of these off... Hey do they expel you if you set one of these off in the halls?" Yusuke asked curiously of Harry, hoping upon hope that it was so. Instead, Ron replied in the negative, explaining that his twin brothers had done it loads of times.

"DAMN!"

"Do people ever give me anything but quills?"

"Open the other ones! I gave you something different." Padma handed Thia a cube-shaped object wrapped in blue paper.

"It's... a clock!"

"And the alarm is extra loud so that I can spend more time in more creative ways than waking you up! Like flirting with Suichi!"

"How thoughtful. And this one is...a quill! What, do I look like I lose quills all of the time? Oh, this one looks different..."

"Ooh! It's so pretty!" other girls squealed. And it was. A rectangular black box made of some sort of heavy wood sat amidst a pile of wrapping paper and quills. The design on the cover was a single painted rose. Inside was only a note reading, _Because__ I couldn't find one with a soda can on it._

Thia laughed out loud.

It was truly and utterly appalling. Crabbe and Goyle looked at it, their mouths watering and their eyes wide with gluttony. Malfoy, too, had wide eyes, though that was because he had never imagined anyone could have a larger amount of presents than he.

He should have seen Kurama's mountain.

Hiei's pile was so big mainly because all of it was an insane amount of candy and sweets that (by Hiei's calculations) would last him only about a month. There were Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizzbees, Ice Mice, Sugar Quills, Jelly Slugs, and more. His favorite? Ever-Freez Ice Cream. For the first time since he'd gotten to Hogwarts, Hiei actually showed an emotion other than anger or impassiveness. Sitting atop his load of sugar, he seemed...pleased.

When Goyle screwed up enough courage to try and steal some of the candy, though, the 'happy' look was replaced by a snarl and the blade was out in an instant. A thin line of blood was traced into the pudgy boy's wrist.

"Don't even try it."

_He must be happy,_ Malfoy thought, _if he's not going for the neck._

"So Hermione went on vacation with her family. Where to?" Thia asked Ron and Harry as the entire group walked together to the Great Hall.

"Some place in France," was the response. "I would've thought all of you might've wanted to go back home for the holidays. You know, seeing's how this is your first year and all."

"It's true, we have been missing home," Kurama admitted. Yusuke snorted, pretending that he hadn't been missing anything. Kuwabara was a little more crestfallen, though, and Hiei remained neutral.

_All that's home is a dusty house and a broken heart,_ was Thia's personal thought, though she said nothing about it aloud.

"Don't you dare get near me, Yusuke. I happen to be the one who ordered all of those Dungbombs in the first place. You even _try_ to set one off near me, and I'll punch your head in, make no mistake about it!" A menacing glare was shot at him over the tops of her glasses.

"Fine! Spoil sport." With that, Yusuke tossed the Dungbomb over his shoulder, hitting Filch full in the face.

"URAMESHI!"

"Oh boy."

"MISTLETOE!" was the shout that greeted them when they entered the Great Hall. Everyone looked around wildly, finally spotting it sitting right above-

"Oh hell."

-Thia and Kurama. Both of whom were blushing. And not looking at each other.

Yusuke was cackling himself to tears, up until the point where he realized that there was a sprig of mistletoe right above himself and Kuwabara, and sidled away quickly. Ron was smiling happily, glad to have one story to recount to Hermione when she came back. Harry, unsmiling, was remembering last year, Cho Chang, and mistletoe. Hiei was biting his tongue and trying not to smile. After all, he had an image to uphold!

"Oh, come on! He's bloody gorgeous, kiss him already!"

Uncertain, Thia turned to face Kurama. And then, seeing a sort of smile in his eyes, she decided to go for it. He met her half-way and they shared a small kiss to the cheering of those gathered in the Hall.

"Good girl! Oh, I wish I were you!"

"That mistletoe could have been infested with nargles, though."

"Um...if you say so, Luna."

Author's Note: Um... Yeah. This chapter was a little hard to start and a little hard to shake off. I had to get into the spirit of Christmas, which wasn't as hard as getting out of it. Really weird. Well, review!

**_Responses:_**

_Slave2anime WORSE?! THERE'S SOMETHING WORSE THAN CAFFEINE ADDICTION?! Juuuust teasing. Don't drool tooooo much, you won't have any left for when Hiei gets another brief spotlight!_

_Mike the Great I'm working on it! I wrote something about that for chapter 10 and didn't like it, but I think it'll fit somewhere else... like chapter 14! (possibly)_

_Rose Wow! I'm glad you like it! I was a little afraid to make the chapter too long, so I didn't get a chance to put the lots part in… Bobby (alter-ego, yes it's a girl): You didn't even think of that, you- gags Bobby I thought the whole you-shalt-not-go-near-another-house's-table rule was in the book. Oopsies! These dark lords are all so morbid...I think I inherited one's soul... Um, yeah. Unfortunately, Thia has not found out a way to make her CD player work and it's driving her up the wall... Thanks for the long reviews! I enjoy them a _lot_._

_Falcom-sama RAMEN!! calming down YAY! Fave author list sounds awesome! Thanks!!!_

_Tweetyboo I swear to you, this is my first fanfic!! Anyway, I'm churning out the chapters as fast as I possibly can!_

_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters Dungbombs rock! Thanks!_

_xKitsunex__ Ooh, goody! Yup, the letters were from his mom and Kaitou. And probably the president of the Suichi fanclub... Just kidding! There's more fighting where that came from... Thank you!!!_


	12. News, Advice, and Fights

DISCLAIMER: Yu Yu Hakusho and Harry Potter don't belong to me. If they did, this entire fanfiction would actually be in the books/show/manga.

Chapter 12: News, Advice, and Fights

"Look at this! Just look at it!" Hermione slapped the Daily Prophet down on the table the moment that she arrived back at Hogwarts.

AZKABAN JAILBREAK! the headline read in huge black lettering.

"What the hell is Azkaban?" Yusuke questioned, not really caring about the answer, though if it helped him to get out of this dump, he was willing to listen.

"Azkaban is a wizarding prison. It used to be guarded by the dementors, but they joined You-Know-Who. We were kind of expecting this a while back, but it never happened until now. I kind of wonder what took them so long."

"You were expecting this, Hermione?!"

"Who's You-Know-Who?"

"Um... He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Kuwabara. You must've heard of him!"

Both boys wore vacant faces until Yusuke finally remembered: "Oh, you mean Voldy-pants!"

"Voldy-pants?" Now it was Ron, Hermione, and Harry's turn to gape. "Harry...Tell me he just said 'Voldy-pants'."

"He just said 'Voldy-pants'."

"I don't know whether to laugh or to kill them."

"We're right in front of you. We can hear you, ya know?"

"Harry, does You-Know-Who still use you to hear stuff?"

"Shut up, Ron! Of course not, right Harry? You practice Occlumency all the time now, don't you?"

"Erm...Yeah," he lied.  "Why?"

"'Cause I wanted him to hear this...Whoa, he'd be pissed off." And with that, Ron began to snigger, Harry joining in soon after. Hermione soon relented and laughed, too.

"I don't get it," said Kuwabara earnestly.

"Me neither."

That was about the only mildly positive thing that happened for the entire week. Piles and piles of homework, dozens of tests, and bad news just seemed to swoop down on them and burden the already burdened sixth years. And aside from classes, both Ron and Harry had Quidditch practice, Ron and Hermione had prefect duties, and Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Thia, and Kurama had fighting practice.

Not to mention the escaped Death Eaters and the demon threat.

The only break from the world in general that Harry Potter was really able to get was on Thursday evening. Ron and Hermione had prefect duties and most of the others were in detention. Though his first thought was to go to Hagrid's hut, Harry felt the need to be alone. For some strange reason, all of the deaths that the 16-year-old had witnessed were bearing down upon him like the sky upon the legendary giant Atlas and anger was roiling in his stomach like a virus. And so, he wandered on the path to the hut, not wanting to go any further, and yet wanting to get away.

Frankly, it made no sense to him.

"Going somewhere, Harry?" a girl's voice asked kindly from behind him. Harry spun around.

Thia.

"Not really." _Go away. I want to be alone._

"Then may I join you?"

"I'd like to be alone now, thank you."

The girl surveyed him a moment, weighing his statement. Then: "You really don't want to be alone."

Harry struggled to keep his anger in check. "I don't think you know what I want and what I don't."

"I'm telling you that you don't."

"I don't need your advice! And what are you talking about, alone? You've got all of the others with you!"

"Harry, you don't understand."

"_What don't I understand?_"

"Alone gives you time to mope, to get angrier, to destroy yourself, if you let it. Feelings like that are a burden, and usually only upon yourself. You push others away and then you have more alone time and it becomes a cycle. But if you share the weight of your thoughts with others before the cycle even begins and before you get any alone time, then you only feel relief."

"Yeah, well what would you know about it? You haven't had both parents murdered by Lord Voldemort, seen an innocent person murdered by Lord Voldemort, or had the closest thing to a father murdered! DON'T TALK LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT I FEEL!" The fact that this girl hadn't so much as blinked at the name of the most evil wizard in the world completely deprived Harry the satisfaction that it usually did.

"How do you know that I haven't? Haven't had so much of my family decimated by some force or another?" She cocked her head slightly to the side, and most of the anger dissipated in Harry's stomach.

"You don't."

"What's your point, Ron?" Hermione asked exasperatedly. "So what, Thia got kissed by Suichi under the mistletoe!"

"Well- because- I thought, you know!"

"If you are once again insinuating that I like Suichi Minamino, I'm going to hex you. The boy is dazzlingly handsome, I'll admit, but may I (once again) remind you: Outward appearance doesn't matter."

"CoughLockhartCough..."

"That's really getting old, Ronald."

Malfoy was tired of being afraid of Hiei. Crabbe and Goyle were getting bored just staring at the empty table. And Yusuke and Kuwabara were waiting for a fight.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Oh, look, it's the spoiled wimp," Yusuke commented as Malfoy walked by in the halls.

"And it's the boy with the cutesy little penguin," was the retort. "What, did your girlfriend give it to you?"

"You do _not _want to mention Kayko," Kuwabara warned quietly.

"I'll bet she's as ugly as-" Malfoy wasn't able to finish his thought, after being thrown several feet away by Yusuke's fist.

"Woohoo!"

The hall erupted into pandemonium. Both Yusuke and Kuwabara swung at the Slytherins who leapt at them, from Crabbe and Goyle to the Slytherin Quidditch captain.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" McGonagall roared above the intolerable noise. "URAMESHI, KUWABARA, CRABBE, GOYLE, AND MALFOY, MY OFFICE _NOW!_"

"...Yusuke...Why in the blue _hell_ would you do that? No, nevermind, I don't want to know."

"And you all got three weeks' detention."

"Yup." Kurama sighed, totally and utterly exasperated.

"I'm impressed, Detective," said Hiei, apparently thinking this was hilarious and so giving a sort of laugh.

"Would you mind telling us how you're going to keep to the mission if you're going to be in detention for three months? There's no other team mate of ours in the Gryffindor house, is there?"

"Ah, Genkai can do it. No sweat."

"DON'T YOU DARE THINK YOU CAN JUST HAND THIS OFF TO ME, YOU DIMWIT!!!"

Author's Notes: All right, not a very good chapter for me, hardly anything really meaningful going on (except for the jailbreak)... To tell the truth, I was having major writer's block in the middle of this. And then I didn't want to risk another cliffhanger by starting the next chapter too early...sigh. There's a reason for the chapter numbers so far. hint, hint

To tell the truth, I have no idea why I created the Thia-Harry scene. It just seemed to fit. _Bobby: She's gone mad... Mad, I tell you! Like Mad-Eye Moo-_ gags Bobby Anyway, please review, criticize, whatever... Anything to either inflate or deflate my ego! It needs a little prod once in a while.

**_Responses:_**

_Rose Yay! I love your long reviews!!! swoons over the mention of X3 Superman... cool! hands Rose pint-sized bucket of Vanishing Vanilla Ever-Freez Ice Cream Free when you mention the word 'kissage'! Thia: I gave Kurama Miracle-Gro plant food for Christmas. No, not really, I'm just messin' with ya. Oh, yeah, I was thinking of making like a 'deleted scenes' type of thing. evil grin I'm thinking about Quidditch... I'll try to put in the House Cup part._

_Phinixofthezodiac, YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan, and EverKitsune Thankyouthankyouthankyou!_

_Slave2anime lol.__ Um... checks story I posted the pairings on chapter 8, but I'll put them up again._

_Pairings: Slight Ron-Hermione and Thia-Kurama. If I get any more brainstorms of any other couples, I'll be sure to put 'em up._


	13. Quiet Yeah, Right

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. DAMMIT!

Chapter 13: Quiet- Yeah, Right

Today was just another seemingly ordinary day for the Spirit World crew. Well, except for the fact that they were in Hogwarts. And the fact that Yusuke and Kuwabara's last detention with McGonagall had been done and over with last night. And the fact that today was-

"Oh, bloody HELL!"

-Valentine's Day.

"What are you 'bloody hell'-ing about now? It's a Saturday. No classes to be late for," Padma said into her pillow groggily.

"It's Valentine's Day." Thia was jerking on her sneakers, still a bit damp from taking a shower.

"Bloody HELL!" Padma snapped up immediately. "I forgot!" She scrambled around, apparently looking for something. Finally she straightened up, holding a gaudy, heart shaped box of Honeydukes' best chocolate.

"Who's that for?"

"Michael Corner."

"Wasn't he going out with Cho?"

"Hmh. One look at Suichi Minamino and it was all over. They kept it going for a while, but broke up about a month ago. Fickle girl, that one. Went out with Potter last year. And before that... well, she was going out with Cedric Diggory. But we all know about that, don't we."

"So you gave up on Suichi."

"Oh, please. You can never give up him. But apparently he's got his heart set on someone else."

"See you later, then, Padma. Have fun!" Thia waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You too!"

Kurama was having a hard time trying to fend off admirers.

"Um... Suichi!" he heard Thia call, and went off in the direction of her voice. "You look a little... how shall I put it?... worse for the wear."

"It's better if you don't ask. Shall we go?" Kurama looked around nervously and, seeing Thia nod, smiled.

As they made their way through the Hogwarts halls and down to the Great Hall, Thia noticed that her friend's eyes kept darting around, this way and that. It was almost as though he was expecting something or someone to pounce on them at the last moment. She was almost surprised that he didn't have his rose out, just in case.

"You look like a rabbit instead of a fox," she finally murmured to him under her breath.

"Sorry," was his sheepish reply. "It's just that Valentine's Day isn't usually a...calm...day, in my experience." Thia stifled a giggle.

At that very instant, a high-pitched shriek rang through the air.

**_"SOMEONE HELP!"_**

Thia and Kurama ran back up the steps and up towards the scream, finally leading them directly to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. Students were already gathered around, and neither Kurama nor Thia was able to part the sea.

Albus Dumbledore, however, was. He glided up the steps with a speed and agility no one would have dreamed a man of his age could've possessed. Instead of entering the common room, though, he called out two names: "Miss Sherwood and Mr. Minamino."

"Should we fetch the others, sir?" was Thia's worried question.

"They have already been called for. _Sodsgobbins_!" The mosaic marking the entrance of the dorm rearranged itself (a.n.: much like behind the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley... I don't have any imagination about house doorways and I doubt all of them are paintings or stone walls) to form a doorway.

"Be safe."

The two made their way into the unfamiliar house cautiously and silently, needing the element of surprise for their attack to be successful.

"WAAHA!" something screeched, leaping into their path and reaching out its extraordinarily long fingers. Thia gave a small 'meep!' of astonishment, and leapt back a few steps.

The element of surprise went completely down the loo- at least for Kurama and Thia, that is. The demon certainly had it down pat.

"Ah, two more students! It's my lucky day!" the thing shrieked. It was hard to tell, with the short hair and the high-pitched voice, whether this was male or female. It did have sallow, greenish skin and cat-like yellow eyes, not to mention extremely long and thin limbs.

Kurama and Thia only watched him, waiting for the attack that was inevitably coming.

Six tangible slashes flew at them, one for every finger on the demon's hand. Both of the students leapt out of the way, though in different directions. The scratch marks crashed into the wall behind where they once stood, causing a large crater in the stone.

"Would someone tell me-" a boy mumbled as he walked out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and into the common room. There was a hoarse yelp of shock and fright as he saw the demon, who made a grab at him.

"Get down!!"

"_Stupefy!_" the Hufflepuff yelled at the top of his lungs, fumbling around with his wand. The spell hit the demon and seemed to freeze it for a moment. The key words being 'a moment'. It began to move again and grow menacingly nearer.

"Rose Whip!" Kurama said, lashing out at the demon and successfully distracting it. Thia ran to the boy.

"Listen to me. What's your name?"

"Kevin Whitby. You're in Ravenclaw, aren't you? Then why-"

"No time, Kevin. Is anyone left in your dorm?"

"Yes. Four of us. I'm the only one awake."

Thia bit her lip. "All right then. I think... I think you'll just have to stay in the dorm. It's dangerous here, me and Suichi can handle it. Don't open the door, hear me?" _Like that'd ever stop the demon from getting in._ "Go! _Colloportus!_" she said, sealing the door behind him. Kurama was still battling the demon, who was a whole lot stronger than the first three. Thia made her way to the girls' dorm.

"Don't be sneaky!" the demon commanded in a shrill voice, and spun around, fingers outstretched. It ran towards the girl and, before either Kurama or Thia could react, slashed out with its sharp claws.

Blood streamed from a cut in Thia's arm.

At least it wasn't as bad as the damage this demon was nursing. It had been cut cleanly in two by Kurama's whip.

"By the looks of it, you don't need our help," Yusuke commented as the rest of them ran in.

"What took you so long?" Thia asked, glaring at Yusuke.

"Hmm, let's see, there was one demon in the dungeons and another one in _your_ common room that you _conveniently_ missed, DO YOU THINK THAT COUNTS?!"

The girl laughed. "Jeez, Yusuke, you take everything so personally! I was teasing!"

"There is no time for jokes, Miss Sherwood. There are more demons in the Gryffindor common room. Hurry!" Dumbledore shooed them out. The five bolted as fast as they could to the painting of the Fat Lady.

"Hurry!" was all the Fat Lady said before swinging open on her hinges.

_"Stupefy!"_ Hermione yelled desperately. Ron had been knocked half-way across the room and was not looking good, but Harry and Hermione stood before the five terrible demons, wands pointed at them menacingly, and trying with all their power to stun them, even though they were outnumbered.

"WOULD YOU JUST GO FOR COVER?!" Thia screamed at them, summoning up energy into her palm.

"Do we want to capture these alive?" Kuwabara asked uncertainly.

"Did you capture the other ones alive?"

"Yeah."

"Then we can kill these five."

"Kill who, kiddie? Not me!" And one of the demons, looking exactly like all of the others that had been killed or captured, slashed out.

"Damage Spheres!" The six cuts were met in mid-air by six green orbs from Thia's palm, and, after battling a moment, were absorbed and disappeared into nothingness. A slash from a certain whip demolished the monster, who, though it made a fairly good attempt at it, was unable to escape.

Meanwhile, Hiei was sheathing his katana after having beheaded the second demon.

"Dammit, shrimp, that one was mine!"

"Is that so? Your name wasn't written on it." Hiei seemed to be trying not to roll his eyes.

"Shut up, dwarf!"

"Spirit Gun!"

"URAMESHI! WHY AREN'T YOU PEOPLE LETTING ME FIGHT?!" the carrot-haired one hollered as a third demon bit the dust.

"You snooze, you lose, Kuwabara, and that's the way it goes." Yusuke smirked self-satisfactorily.

"Oh, sure. SPIRIT SWORD!" the carrot-haired warrior bellowed, and charged straight at one of the remaining demons, who cackled in delight. He wasn't laughing when Kuwabara's sword stretched out and impaled him.

The last remaining demon smirked widely, gave a mocking wave, and vanished.

"Dammit! He got away." After a moment of temporary disappointment, Yusuke grinned once more, totally satisfied at the mess that had been made of the Gryffindor common room. And then he seemed to see Harry, Hermione, and Ron for the first time. The first two of whom were oggling unabashedly at the five others.

"Who- What- How-"

"Well this blows. Our cover's gone." Kuwabara gave a quick glare at Yusuke, who asked, "What? I can't tell the truth anymore?"

"How could this happen?! No one's supposed to be able to Apparate onto or off of Hogwarts grounds! It's not possible!!!" Hermione yelled, her voice strangely high-pitched with fright.

"Nevermind that. I believe your friend needs the infirmary," Kurama pointed out, motioning to Ron.

"Oh. Right." Harry and Hermione ran to their friend and sat him up, whispering and helping him to get up.

"Nice job, guys! And girl," Yusuke quickly added.

Thia smiled a moment, then felt a wave of intense dizziness wash over her. She reached out and clutched at Kurama's shoulder to steady herself.

Concerned, he asked, "What is it?"

"Dizzy. And everything's gone an odd color." Slowly Thia let go, balanced once more.

They turned to leave, but not before Yusuke commented, "What're you doing, trying to poke your eyes out?" This he directed to Thia, who had taken her glasses off and was fingering her eyelids, almost as though she was trying to see if they were still opened.

"Oh, no. Okay, I will not panic, I will not panic," Thia mumbled, over and over to herself, not seeming to take any notice of Yusuke or the others. And then her head snapped up and she began to panic.

"Is everyone still here?" She was met with shocked silence. "Dammit, I'd like an answer!"

"Calm down, we're still here."

Another wave hit her and she fell heavily to her knees.

"Thia!" Her breaths were heavy, labored, and spaced far apart. The cut on her arm, which had stopped bleeding after the first minute or so, slowly began to trickle again.

"I would suggest you take her to the infirmary with Mr. Weasley." Albus Dumbledore once again swept into the common room, Professor McGonagall close at his heels.

"Thia, can you stand?"

"Yeah, sure. Standing sounds great," she babbled. Clumsily, she got to her feet, but taking a step proved to be too much. One arm was slung over Kurama's shoulders and one of his went around her waist, and in ths way they went down to the infirmary.

"Isn't it funny how you were right?" Thia said to Kurama, her tone strained.

"Right about what, exactly?"

"Valentine's Day... wasn't calm in the least." She made an amused sound in her throat.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey wanted to know, but no one knew what, exactly, to say.

"There were these _things_ in the common rooms and they just _attacked!_" Hermione exclaimed abruptly.

"I suppose Mr. Weasley got in the crossfire?" Harry and Hermione nodded, and Madam Pomfrey continued with, "And what's wrong with her?"

"We don't know. She was injured earlier, but it seems as though something else is wrong." Kurama glanced again at Thia.

"What are the symptoms?" They turned expectantly to Thia, who had her arms wrapped tightly against her knees.

"Symptoms, Thia, what are they?" someone asked loudly.

"Dizzy... can't see... can't hear all that much... can't breathe... too tired to move... cold..." A feeble grin made its way onto her lips. "Sure as hell... isn't caffeine withdrawal..."

Madam Pomfrey made a disapproving noise in her throat, and then examined the five inch cut on Thia's arm. It was still trickling blood at a fast rate, but the area around it appeared to be tinged a peculiar periwinkle color. Odd, to say the least. Gently, the nurse prodded it with a finger and- to her surprise and shock- a ghastly violet liquid seemed to seep out of Thia's pores.

"All right, it's a poison, then. I'll patch her up and you all shoo. No, I don't care if she's your friend, the sooner you're out, the sooner I can heal."

* * *

Author's Notes: Aha! The Ominous Number Thirteen. I was almost going to call it Luck or Lack of It... Did you ever notice that in the HP books _something happens_ during chapter 13? Not necessarily terrible, but something relating to one of the main villains? _Weird..._ I hope that this doesn't count as a cliffhanger, because I didn't mean for it to be. I hope you didn't (once again) get grossed out by the description of the poisonous cut... My imagination just runs away with me sometimes. Um, okay. I might not be able to update for a few days because I'm going on vacation to a place without a phone line. NOOO! Well, my mom is going to drag me anyway, no matter how much I pout and sulk.

**_Responses:_**

_EverKitsune Hiei on a sugar high... Everybody'd better watch their necks!_

_shadowkitsune, Slave2anime, and Mike the Great Thaaaaaanks for the reviews!!!_

_Rose I will admit, my brain was frying when I wrote most of Chapter 12... One of the down sides of having nothing to do but sit in front of a computer screen... or in front of a TV screen... or in front of my bookshelves contemplating which book/manga/comic to read today... Anyway... sheepish grin I always forget to put the "who-said-what" thingies before or after the quotes..._

_Falcon-sama MORE RAMEN!!!! YAY!!!_

_xKitsunex lol. I hope that Kitsune pays Meghann the M&M's! Ooh, now I want M&M's._


	14. Revelations

DISCLAIMER: WOULD YOU QUIT IT?! I DON'T OWN HP OR YYH!

Chapter 14: Revelations

Thia emerged from the hospital wing in two days, irritatable and more than a little skittish

"So? Did they use the Veritaserum yet?" was the first thing that she asked when she saw her friends.

"Well hello to you, too."

"Cut the crap, Yusuke, I'm not in the mood."

"Then yeah, they did. Sheesh, women. You say a single polite thing and they bite off your head," he muttered.

"And? How did it go? What'd they say?"

"Sit down and we'll tell you.

* * *

_The Previous Day:_

The two prisoners sat in the dungeons, under even more precautions than their predecessors. They were bound by magic, steel, and ropes. And then there was the sallow Severus Snape, once again glaring at his "charges" down his hooked nose.

"Severus, the Veritaserum?" Dumbledore asked, with no further preamble. Instead of only two members of the team following in his wake, there were four, all with murderous looks on their faces or with equally murderous thoughts on their minds. It was exactly 2:10 in the morning. This had better be good.

Three drops were proved to be not enough of the potion to get the demon to divulge his secrets, but seven seemed to be the lucky number.

"What was your master planning by sending you here?" Dumbledore asked, voice cool and his demeanor matching it.

"He was matching up the skill of his opponents. I believe he deemed them worthy."

"And what does Lord Tsurin want from Lord Voldemort in return for his sevices?"

"He wants support from the worthless humans that Lord Voldemort calls his servants." The demon rolled his eyes.

"What does Lord Tsurin want the support for?"

"My lord wants support to-" The demon's wrist began to sizzle menacingly. "He wants the support so that his minions can roam freely in this world and the next."

And then they were nothing more than puddles of mucus-colored acid.

"_'his minions can roam freely in this world and the next...'_ I suppose that you have found the solution to this problem?"

"This world means Human World, naturally," Kurama said, thinking, _How obvious._

"And the next means Spirit World," Kuwabara joined in.

"And Tsurin wants passage into both with the help of Voldy-poo." Snape's jaw nearly dropped.

_Voldy-poo?_

"Hn. They'll find it's not easy to do so."

"But Koenma has to be told anyway." Yusuke yawned largely.

"That is true enough, Mr. Urameshi. I will send an owl to your friend, Botan, who is currently residing in the Order of the Phoenix's safehouse. No doubt you will all wish to go back to bed. Professor Snape, would you please escort them out?"

* * *

"And so that's it. Tsurin wants domination over Spirit World and free passage into and out of the Human World. Though, exactly how he plans to do that with humans on his side is a mystery." 

"Simplicity. That's all anyone wants from these evil lords! Simplicity." Thia sighed. "Well, what else happened?"

Yusuke smirked. "Potter, Weasley, and Granger got detention from Grandma."

"Seriously? What were they doing?"

"Talking during one of Genkai's lectures."

"Urameshi, you forgot to mention that you got _both _of us into detention along with them." Kuwabara glared at the other boy.

"Oh. Yeah. Well, SHUT UP, Kuwabara!"

"But it won't be a real detention, then," the girl interjected before they could start hitting each other. "That's not the type of thing that you get detention for. You get ten points off Gryffindor for talking in class, bobo. And I highly doubt that Hermione was involved. Genkai probably has an ulterior motive."

"Ul-what motive?"

"Forget it." Thia muttered something about a dictionary to Kurama (who laughed) and Hiei (who smirked).

* * *

"Where are we going, Professor Genkai?" 

"Oh, come on, Weasley, don't pretend you don't know where we're going. You, Potter, and Granger have been here plenty of times before."

"The Room of Requirement," Hermione breathed, wondering how in the world a new teacher would know of it.

Kurama, Thia, and Hiei were waiting for them on the seventh floor, right in front of the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy, looking bored.

"Thank you all for coming. Now let's get this room set up." Quickly, Genkai paced across the hallway thrice, apparently deep in thought. Her third time across produced a large, polished door. She pushed it open and in they went.

It was similar to the D.A. practice rooms in that there were cushions on the floor and bookshelves on the walls, but the instruments that used to be on the shelves were missing and the books were not on the Defense Against the Dark Arts, but rather were titled things like: _Demons, Demons, Demons: Who's Who of Demon World _and _The Three Worlds: Harmony and War._ Both girls seemed to be resisting the urge to rush over and devour them all with their eyes. Kurama was likewise struggling against the temptation, although he knew the books would not tell him anything that he had not already known.

"Professor Genkai, what are we doing here?" Harry asked, not at all at ease. Maybe Genkai really wasn't a member of the Order. What if she was an undercover spy for Voldemort? What-

"I'm asking the three of you to listen to me very carefully. There are things that I'm going to tell you right now that I'm sure you won't believe, but I'm going to tell you anyway, since no one else wants to. Now there's something called Spirit Energy and it flows through us all. With some it's a very ordinary level, and those types of people are what you call Muggles. Others have a higher level, enough to create what is known as magic. And these five have an even higher amount." The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher gestured at Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Thia. "The three of you have some pretty high quantaties of it, as well.

"And now here's the part where you'll doubt my sanity, but let me tell you, I've got all of my marbles.

"Demons. They're not fairy tales, even though that's what most people will want you to believe. They're real and you've seen them. Those creatures in the common rooms were demons under the leadership of Lord Voldemort and his comrade, Lord Tsurin. And you've been in the company of two other demons since day one of your sixth year. Come here, Hiei and Kurama.

"Hiei is a fire demon and Kurama is a fox demon, though he's in his human form at the moment. And if you think that there's no proof that all of this is true, then may I ask Hiei if he would please take off that bandana?"

"Hn." If anything, the revealing of his eye to three mere humans with only an adequate amount of Spirit Energy was demeaning! But still, the white bandana was soon off of his forehead and clenched in his fist instead, revealing Hiei's Jagan eye.

"That- that's not _real_... Is it?"

"Damn right it's real, Weasley. Now, lesson number three: There are three worlds in existance today. The first is Human World, which is where we are. The second is Demon World, which is, naturally, where demons usually live. And the third is Spirit World. It is there that you go after death, and where they sort you out. Yusuke was appointed the Spirit Detective of Earth by Koenma, the prince of Spirit World. When Dumbledore needed help this year in watching over you all, he applied to Koenma for it."

"Dumbledore did _what_?"

"Don't blame the headmaster for it, Potter. I've heard how you hate being protected, and that's why I'm telling you all of this without any censorship. But you saw what those demons did the other day. There was no way that you could've beaten them without these five. The reason why the demons are attacking in the first place is because their master, Lord Tsurin, wants control over Spirit World as well as entrance from Demon World into the Human World. Apparently, Lord Tsurin and Lord Voldemort have become close allies. But there are so many other pieces of the puzzle that we need to collect." Genkai sipped on a cup of tea that had seemingly materialized on the shelf just moments before.

"And that's what you need to know. You are excused from the detention that I gave you earlier." Genkai turned her back on them.

"But- Professor Genkai!"

"What is it, Potter?"

Harry thought for a moment, then began, saying, "Professor Genkai, is there any way that, er, _we_ could learn to do that stuff? I mean, that's part of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, isn't it? So why-"

"I thought you'd ask that, Potter. And the answer is yes, there is a way, if you've got the Spirit Energy levels for it. The only question is, do you have the willpower to do it?"

The three students seemed to think hard about this for a few minutes before turning to each other. Then, understanding the looks in each others' eyes (Ron's was more of a negative, but that was only a minor detail), Harry nodded.

"Very well. Let's get started."

* * *

Author's Notes: Ooooookay. As you can see, I'm using the terms 'Human World', 'Spirit World', and 'Demon World' as opposed to 'Ningenkai', 'Reikai', and 'Makai' because I'm an idiot who doesn't feel comfortable using those terms. 

Well, I'm back from vacation. (duh) It was only just a weekend affair, as my bros have school (I happen to be the genious of the family). And yet, three days in New Jersey can be... how shall I put it?... HELL. Not because there are no phone lines, no, that's not it. It's because I was stranded in a nice suburban house with no phone, no computer, cruddy weather, and _six adolescent boys._ Okay. Now picture six athletic and... um... unintelligent boys, one of whom screams the word 'MONKEY!!!' repeatedly in the early morning while I'm trying to sleep. And then there's lazy, sarcastic, angsty me. Yeah. Like that's going to be a pretty picture.

Okay, I'm just about finished rambling... Tune in next time for Chapter 15! Review, please!

**_Responses:_**

_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan, shadowkitsune, EverKitsune, and kidakash Thank you for the reviews!_

_Fleetgoddess14 I hope this chapter answered your question!_

_Meghann 300 rabid fan girls, huh? No wonder he was like a rabbit! I feel your pain... My brothers are able to fend for themselves, but my younger cousins... Whew, I hate babysitting them. Thank all things sacred that I don't live with them... shuddershudder_

_Slave2anime Hiei is all yours! I agree with you about the Hiei pairings all the way._

_SilentTruth COOKIES!!!_

_Rose I had the entire Kurama-carrying-Thia thing in my first draft of Chapter 13, and then I cut it at the very last minute! I've been kicking myself for it ever since... And I actually had the foresight to bring my binder and a couple of pens so that I could write during the vacation! About my bookcases: I'm notorious in my family for having a book collection the size of a small library. sheepish grin Fantasy books are the main denomination, but I've got 12 X-Men comic books (I read more comics than my brothers, sadly enough). And then I've got my minimal amount of manga! I have 1-5 of Cyborg 009, Ruroni Kenshin #4, and 1 and 2 of Saiyuki. I always want to get Yu Yu Hakusho, but half of the time they're not there and the other half of the time, my family is dragging me out the door before I can actually look at it. pouts At least I have a Shonen Jump magazine that has one little chapter of when they were facing the Saint Beasts... and at least it's the one with Kurama vs. Genbu!_


	15. Pansy's Revenge, Bets, and Broken Noses

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. However, when I take over the world, I will immediately sieze the rights to both of these. Oh, and I don't own Linkin Park's _Crawling._ Like I said, that's Linkin Park, dude.

Chapter 15: Pansy's Revenge, Bets, and Broken Noses

Ron, Hermione, and Harry dragged themselves into the dormitory. Literally. They were so worn out that they could no longer lift their feet up properly, and so had to pull their feet along.

Who knew concentrating could be this tiring?

That's basically what it was. Genkai had told them to concentrate on gathering their energy to one particular place. She had decided that Yusuke would be a good example for them to follow (what an odd thought! Yusuke- a good example?) and had told him to create a Spirit Gun blast just small enough to give them an idea of what they were supposed to be doing. Surprisingly enough, he had complied, almost eagerly. The effortless demonstration that he had provided caused the three others to grow only more enthusiastic about what they were about to learn.

Effortless. Yeah. They should've figured that since Yusuke had been doing this for a longer time than they, it _would_ be effortless for him. For them... not so. Extreme concentration had been needed for them to even feel out the energy that ran throughout them. And then they had had to gather it up and summon it to the palm of their hands. It took an hour and a half for them to even get a faint shimmer of energy to appear, and that was only Hermione, who undoubtedly had the best concentration of the three. And that shimmer disappeared the instant that Kuwabara snored and yelled out, "Another beer for the kitty, Sis," scaring the three Hogwarts students out of their socks.

"I don't want to know," Yusuke said, shaking his head.

"All right then, I suppose we'll continue this another time. Practice this, but only when you're alone, got it?" was Genkai's warning right before they trudged out of the Room of the Requirement.

Presently, Harry, who was seated in one of the couches in the common room (which was not fully devoid of students) asked, "What time is it?"

To which Ron wearily responded, "Late," and promptly dropped off.

"Where have you guys been?" asked Ginny Weasley, noting her sleeping brother as she finished off her homework.

"Detention. Genkai." It was close enough to the truth, Harry decided. She had brought them in for "detention" and even though she had excused them from it, they had stayed for it. Sort of.

"She's an okay one. At least she does practical stuff along with all of the lectures. She's better than Umbridge. Though, I hear her detentions are a horror. All physical work." Ginny turned expectantly to Harry. Sleeping.

"Boys," she muttered to Hermione. Who, she realized, was also asleep, her head resting on Ron's shoulder. Ginny rolled her eyes and went up to her dorm.

* * *

The next day, a particularly loud crash of thunder brought Thia back to reality with a jump and a bang. A bang into Pansy Parkinson, that is. 

"Oh, sorry," Thia murmured, and was about to drift back into Daydream Land when Pansy decided that she wasn't going to let this one slide. And as she was taller and a bit thicker than the youner girl, Pansy easily determined that she had the advantage. Well, that and the fact that Millicent Bulstrode was about as eager as she was for the revenge that had been inevitably coming for Thianadel Sherwood ever since Christmas. The mistletoe incident had certainly not been forgotten.

"Sorry-" here Pansy shoved at Thia's shoulder, making the girl stumble back a step or two, "-just isn't enough, Sherwood."

_'...There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface/ Consuming... confusing...'_

"It damn well is," was the quiet reply from the victim.

_'...This lack of self-control I fear is neverending/ Controlling... I can't seem...'_

"It's not-" another shove, "-if I say it's not, all right?" The bully sneered at Thia, whose eyes lost their dreamy touch and became cold.

_'...To find myself again/ My walls are closing in...'_

"Don't you dare touch me again," she said, her voice imparting all of the disgust that she felt towards Pansy.

_'...I've felt this way before/ So insecure...'_

The said individual didn't get the point and instead flew into a rage.

"How dare you say that to me, you filthy Mudblood!" she shrieked, and flew at Thia.

_'...Crawling in my skin/ These wounds they will not heal...'_

"Cat fight!" someone in the hall yelled at the top of his lungs, and like moths to a flame the people gathered to the skirmish. Including, naturally, Yusuke and Kuwabara, both disgruntled that there weren't any _real_ fights going on.

"Hey Urameshi, isn't that Thia?"

"Uh, yeah, Kuwabara."

"Well, I mean, she just got out of the hospital wing, dontcha think we should break them up or somethin'?"

Yusuke shrugged, saying, "She can handle herself. I mean, she got Hiei to smirk and she beat you up, that's gotta be worth something. Hey, I'll bet you five Galleons that Thia wins."

"Ten and you've got yourself a bet," a Hufflepuff said from behind them. "Let's face it here, Sherwood's too skinny and girly."

"You're on!" Yusuke crowed.

"Fifteen that the friend joins in, Thia still wins, and Suichi blames us for not stepping in when he hears about this."

"Hiei?! You actually have fifteen Galleons?!"

Meanwhile, in the actual fight, Pansy kept on lunging at Thia, who kept on slipping to the side at the very last minute. And then Pansy gave the Sign- a stamp of her foot onto the marble floor- and Millicent came up behind her victim.

_'...Fear is how I fall/ Confusing what is real...'_

Hiei held out his palm to both Yusuke and the Hufflepuff.

Somehow, Thia managed to disentangle herself from one of her attackers, though not after receiving a bruise on her cheekbone.

_'...Discomfort endlessly has pulled itself upon me/ Distracting... reacting...'_

And then she found an opening to trip Pansy, and took that opportunity, sending the girl flying into the crowd, who, in turn, parted, so that she fell flat on her face with a nasty-sounding crack.

_'...Against my will I stand beside my own reflection/ It's haunting/ How I can't seem...'_

Millicent, confident that Pansy's defeat was simply a fluke, rounded upon the younger girl.

"You stole Suichi from us!" was the pronouncement that she made, and attacked. Thia made a sound of disbelief in her throat.

_'...To find myself again/ My walls are closing in...'_

A right hook was heading towards Thia, but she knocked it aside easily and slammed her own fist into Millicent's stomach with all of the strength she had, causing the other girl to double over onto her knees.

_'...I've felt this way before/ So insecure...'_

The Hufflepuff reluctantly handed both Yusuke and Hiei 'I-O-U' notes reading, _I O U 10 G. -Owen Cauldwell_

"What is going on?" Professor Snape asked coldly, and scattered the crowd. It was then that he received a rather large shock- two of the burliest and surliest girls from the Slytherin house were on the ground, clutching at various parts of their anatomy, beaten by a smaller and thinner Ravenclaw.

"That is what I would like to know," McGonagall said from his right, looking oggle-eyed at the three girls.

* * *

Kurama sighed heavily as he, Thia, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei sat at a table in the library. The area beneath the girl's eye was starting to turn a purple color. Outside it was pouring rain, lightning flashing across the sky every so often and thunder booming. 

"Mr. Hiei, take your feet off of the table!" Madam Pince scolded as she walked by them. When he bared his teeth at her, he was given a glare or two from his own table.

"Why did you not step in, Yusuke and Kuwabara?" asked Kurama quietly.

"Erm..." Beneath the table, Yusuke handed Hiei the other five coins. " 'Cause."

Thia clapped heartily and said, "Good answer! Good answer, Yusuke!" Madam Pince glared in their direction once more.

"Hey, why don't you go to Madam Pomfrey or something?" was the retort.

"Uh... because Pansy broke her nose in that fall."

The others wore completely confused looks on their faces.

"And therefore she might still be in the infirmary," she continued slowly.

The looks of confusion quickly became looks of disbelief.

"You're not _afraid_ of Pansy, are you?!" Kuwabara sputtered incredulously.

"What?! No! I just don't want to have to break her nose again. Too much work for Madam Pomfrey," the girl said, and smiled widely.

* * *

Author's Notes: Anyone who's familiar with 'Crawling' will notice that I didn't include the part where that other guy says something about 'something-sense and confidence...' Ah well. Review, please!!! 

**_Responses:_**

_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan Yay! Fave Story list is great!!! Thank you!! On yaoi: shrugs I really don't have a fixed opinion on it. Sometimes I find it as sweet as any "regular" pairing, but sometimes it's just not to my taste. That's probably a little vague, but it's what I feel. another shrug_

_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters No, no, don't worry! After all, Genkai only said that they had "pretty high quantaties" of Spirit Energy. The HP gang aren't quite up to the standard of the YYH crew._

_Falcon-Sama More revenge on Malfoy? cackles menacingly I'll toy with the idea of it._

_EverKitsune Well, I sincerely hope that you survive vacation, whenever you have to go!_

_Meghann [xKitsunex] slaps head Thanks for pointing that out! I completely missed that mistake... Wow, my head's been in the clouds lately! I get confused about how to spell Kurama's human first name, too. There are about six different spellings that I've seen. And about Mr. Monkey: If my mother hadn't been using it, I would've certainly chased him around with a knife._

_Fleetgoddess14, shadowkitsune, Slave2anime, and Mike the Great Thanks for reviewing!_

_Rose Hmm, for me the Room of Requirement would have... lots and lots of fantasy books, manga, and anime, CDs, a crazy amount of sugar and caffeine, and stuff to write with/on! ...evil laughter Revenge upon Mr. Monkey... My favorite X-Men comic sequence-storyline thingies are New X-Men and the newer Uncanny X-Men._


	16. A Glimpse at the Evil Side

DISCLAIMER: sigh I claim no ownership upon Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter.  
  
_Italics_= Tsurin's Rational Mind/ Subconscious

/Slashes/= Tsurin's, er, Irrational Mind

{Brackets}= Voldemort's Thoughts  
  


Chapter 16: A Glimpse at the Evil Side

Lord Tsurin sat upon his throne in the Demon World. Fashioned of some sort of white material, it was durable for the most part, though yellowing. By no means was he the leader of the entire Demon World, no sir! He just happened to be the lord of this particular area. Er, well, cave.

/If all goes according to plan, I will have two more made- One for my place in Spirit World and one for when I snatch the Human World from that imbecile, Voldemort./

That's right. Once Tsurin gained control of the Spirit World, he would swoop down and take the Human World for himself, destroying Voldemort in a flash. Betrayal was nearly as sweet as vengeance, especially if it happened from right under the fool's nose. The only things that he had to worry about were those idiotic children and that foolish club that had been started to oppose the forces of darkness. But, he had a feeling they were no match for the might of the Invincible and Imposing Lord Tsurin!

_And yet, they defeated your first two waves without so much as blinking,_ a voice at the very back of the lord's head remarked.

He knew this. He had seen it firsthand, had been in the fray all along, watching through the eyes of another demon. And Lord Tsurin had planned it that way so that he might be able to gauge his opponents' talents, which, he had finally decided, were more than adequate. He had been the one to execute the psychic attack upon the one with the Jagan- though with the limited abilities of his demon vessel combined with the strength of the target, Tsurin doubted he caused as much pain as he had originally intended.

The lack of power that his minions possessed was utterly astounding.

But the next wave of underlings, oh, they would be good enough, for sure! Two attacks, one on the school and the other to draw out the Order of the Owl or whatever it was called. Tsurin would destroy those foolish idiots who had dared to stand in his way. And then he would capture that Harry boy and, instead of killing him, as Voldemort wished him to, would use the boy in the hopes that he and Voldemort would finish each other off!

_A brilliant plan, a brilliant plan!_ the voice inside Tsurin's head complimented. _Except for the fact that if either of them survives, you'll have a tough time. Or what if they join forces to rid themselves of you? Hmm? _

If Lord Tsurin could execute his infernal inner voice, then by all means, he would.

_And then again, how do you know that Voldemort hasn't begun plotting your death yet? Evil is as evil does, after all._

/And what exactly does that mean?/

_Figure it out. Does the rational side have to do everything? _

The Great Lord Tsurin never thought he'd see the day when he'd actually have a conversation with his subconscious.

_Look on the bright side, at least you'll have your hands on the Weapon very very soon!_ his rational mind chirped.

"Milord Tsurin! Milord Voldemort wishes to speak to you, sir," a servant bowed four times to her lord and held out a rather large metal plate to him. Tsurin took it in his hands and dismissed the demoness.

"Voldemort! What do you want?" the lord barked into the plate.

Mere seconds later, a twitchy man appeared in it. "Oh, Lord Tsurin... The Dark Lord is, er, not here. He, uh, wanted me to, uh, give you a, uh, message." Wormtail fidgeted with the plate, not wanting to look at his lord's, er, ally.

"Well spit it out, you dimwit, I don't have all day, you know," Tsurin snapped menacingly, annoyed that Voldemort would summon him one moment and then deny his presence there the next.

"My lord said that, uh, the last attempt you made was an," a gulp from Wormtail here, "an utter failure. He said that you'd better succeed next time, or, uh, else."

/Or else? Who does Voldemort think he is?/

_He thinks he's the supreme being in the Human World. Which, we know, he isn't._

Tsurin ground his large, yellowy teeth together and replied, "You tell your Lord Voldemort-" an extra large shudder escaped from Wormtail, "-that my subordinates' attempts failed because your Lord's intelligence proved WRONG! DO YOU HEAR ME? _WRONG!"_

At every word, Wormtail flinched, and then he asked, "Urm, my lord Tsurin... Do I really have to tell my lord?"

"NOW, YOU RAT! YOU TELL VOLDEMORT THAT NOW!" Quite ironic how Tsurin picked that particular word, eh? The man on the other side of the plate scampered away as fast as he could, and Tsurin threw the plate across the room, where it embedded itself into the wall. The demon lord sat back, perfectly at ease, almost as though just moments before, he hadn't flown into a deadly rage.

/I wonder what's for dinner today.../ Tsurin's rational mind shook its non-existent head.

* * *

"Is that what he said, word for word, Wormtail?" 

"Um... He did say something else, my lord..." The Animagi sat with his face practically rubbed into the ground, cringing every so often, his silvery hand balled up into a fist.

Voldemort waited for his subordinate to tell him the bad news. And waited. And then, kicking out at Wormtail, yelled, "What was Tsurin's message?!"

"Hesaidthatitwasyourfaultthathisattacksfailedbecauseyougavehimfaultyinformat ion."

Voldemort's high pitched voice became dangerous as he said, "_My_ information? _My information_ was faulty?"

{How dare he blame this on me!}

"Leave me!" Wormtail scampered out and Voldemort resumed his thoughts.

{No doubt the fool is preparing to deceive me... Does he think I'm so dim- witted as to miss that? No matter. If he even tries it, I will personally slit his throat. Though... What caused the failure? What information was faulty, by Tsurin's standards?}

"My lord!" Lucius Malfoy entered the room and immediately fell to his knees before the Dark Lord.

"What now, Lucius?" asked Voldemort irritably. And Lord knows an irritable Voldemort means a certain torture spell being cast...

"My- my lord, there are rumors flying about the school, Hogw-"

"I know the name of the school, Lucius," he snapped. "Now what would _I_, the _Dark Lord_, want with some petty school rumors? Hmm?"

"My lord, the rumors say that there are five transfer students in Hogwarts. They supposedly came with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who is undoubtedly on Dumbledore's side. One of the five, as my son informs me, doesn't seem to be quite human, and carries about a sword with him, sitting in the back-"

"Unnecessary information, Lucius," Voldemort interjected smoothly.

"Oh- Yes, my lord, forgive me... But they all seem to cluster around Potter, even the Slytherin." This certainly caught Voldemort's attention. If they were surrounding Potter, then that would mean that Dumbledore had brought in outside sources. Outside sources probably ready and able to handle demons.

{That was what Tsurin had meant by faulty information, then. A team was sent in...}

"Has the source of these rumors provided any other necessary information?"

"No, my lord. Draco only mentioned it in passing in a letter to Narcissa." "Very well, then, Lucius. Send out the dementors. Now leave my sight!"

{I will ask Tsurin to arrange his third wave so that it coincides with my own wave...}

* * *

Author's Notes: I enjoyed writing this chapter because Tsurin's a bit delusional he-he-he!... Now I guess you're wondering, 'Why the plate?' Well, I'll tell you. in t.v. salesperson voice: This Limited Edition Communication Plate is both durable and functional! Though it may seem plain, this steel alloy plate is worth every penny that you invest in it. Once you've finished eating your dinner, contact one of your friends and have a lovely conversation! A unique and classy facelift on the classic Communication Mirror used by Botan, this plate is sure to last for generations on end... 

Ha-ha! No, not really, I wrote this right before dinner, so plates and food were the only things on my mind. And I thought that seeing Voldemort in a hamburger was downright creepy. Aaaaanyway, review, please!

Oh, and does anyone know what year Angelina Johnson and the rest of the Chasers are in or if they already graduated from Hogwarts??? hint hint  
  
_**Responses:** _

_Everkitsune and Shadowkitsune Thanks for reviewing! _

_Slave2anime Go right ahead 'n kill Pansy!! (Though I dunno how J.K. Rowling'll take it...)_

_Mike the Great Wow, really? Seeing Thia in a Yu Yu Hakusho episode's a pretty big compliment, so major thanks!!! _

_Rose Hehe. I'm currently writing about Thia's CD player in the Deleted Scenes thingy...Malfoy will (hopefully) come out of the hole that Bobby pushed him into just in time for the next chapter. Or the chapter after that, depending on how deep the hole is and if he grovels well enough. _

_Falcon-sama Yeah, Mountain Dew gets me reaaaally hyper, too. _


	17. Quidditch and AllOut Battles

DISCLAIMER: No, for the SEVENTEENTH time, I DON'T own YYH or HP. However, I own Gareth Leary, though if anyone wants him, they can buy him...

Chapter 17: Quidditch and All-out Battles

"What's the point of this sport again?"

Harry and Ron sighed in unison and began to explain the game of Quidditch to Yusuke and Kuwabara once more. Well, at least it took their minds off the upcoming game of Slytherin versus Gryffindor for the Cup. Which, Harry noted, was in about four hours.

He had been made the Gryffindor Team Captain in place of Angelina, who had left Hogwarts last year. Ron had been a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten the captainship, but like a true friend, had gotten over it. Personally, Harry thought that Ron was lucky not to have gotten it, because it was a serious hassle, trying to schedule practices that wouldn't interfere with Genkai's lessons (which were going quite well- they'd all been able to create some kind of attack, weak though the attacks may have been), boosting the team's spirits, finding a new Chaser, _and _trying to keep up with his schoolwork. No wonder Oliver and Angelina had been so stressed.

"You've got to get the most points by throwing the Quaffle into the rings at one end of the pitch, which is worth 10 points, and the Seeker's got to catch the Golden Snitch, which is worth 150 points," Harry explained vaguely.

"What's the Waffle again?"

* * *

It would have been a perfect April day if it hadn't been so windy. Some of the Gryffindor players were having trouble with the older model brooms, but otherwise the game was running smoothly. The replacement for Lee Jordan was Gryffindor's Gareth Leary, who was not nearly as... _outspoken_ as Lee, but just as good an announcer.

"Ooh, Warrington hit by a Bludger from Sloper and he drops the Quaffle. Bell catches it, zooms towards the goal, she throws it, Bletchley's not able to stop it and it's 10- nothing, Gryffindor! Montague takes possession of the Quaffle, Spinnet and Bell close at his heels- And Malfoy slams into Alicia Spinnet!"

Thia was having trouble paying attention to the match. She was strangely conscious of Kurama's prescence next to her and this insecurity of a sort was starting to drive her crazy. For the third time in about 10 minutes, she un-did and then re-tied her hair into a ponytail.

"And that's a foul for Slytherin, Warrington takes it, c'mon Weasl- ooh, and it's 20-10, Gryffindor. Oh, Potter dives, Malfoy dives, apparently someone's seen the Snitch! But no, Harry breaks out of the dive and once again Malfoy eats grass. Will he ever learn to stop falling for that trick?"

Kurama noticed Thia's fidgeting and the way that she kept on twisting her ring around and around her finger. He was about to ask 'What's the matter?' when a cold feeling washed over him, as he was sure it had washed over everyone else in the stadium. Thia gave him a sharp look that said, 'This is not good.'

They looked up.

Dementors, all diving down for their prey. An unbelievable swarm of them, like silent, deadly killers in black.

Their heads snapped to Dumbledore, who was standing up and staring up, a look of fierce anger upon his face. It was frightening.

* * *

Up in the air, Harry had been scouting for the Snitch when the tell-tale feeling had set into his very bones, the icy chill and the draining of happiness from his entire being. It was automatic for Harry to draw his wand and turn to see the shrouded black beings.

If there was any moment during which Harry would have had a stroke, this would probably be it. It seemed as though the entire sky was blackened with the dreaded creatures. Almost unconsciously, Harry dived down, a wise move on his part. As he streaked down, he watched as the rest of the two teams (save for himself and Ron) fled, flying to the castle as fast as they could.

What a time to see the Snitch, darting around as though nothing was wrong!

* * *

"Tell me that's not Yusuke doing what I think he's doing!" Thia said, shaking Kurama's arm in a very alarmed manner, and pointing to the Spirit Detective, who was seemingly oblivious to the pandemonium around him.

He was in his Shot Gun pose.

"Does he even know what dementors are?!" she asked, horrified.

"I doubt it," was the reply.

Thia grabbed at any idea in her mind, quickly, before she had time to refine it and before Yusuke decided to attack.

"_Sonorus!_" she whispered, and then, _"IDIOT!!! Silencio!"_

Heads snapped around, disbelieving, and Yusuke's was among them. Both Kurama and Thia gave him murderous looks before attending to the trouble at hand.

About twelve voices shouted, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ at the same moment, most of them teachers, but a good few were students. Twelve Patronuses appeared. Among them were Harry's stag, Kurama's fox (a.n.: What else would it be, a butterfly?), and Thia's rabbit.

And then the true trouble started.

Demons, hordes of them, appeared on the Quidditch pitch, all horrifically ugly. Screeches could be heard everywhere, not from the monsters, but rather from the students, first years and seventh years alike, all of whom were frightened out of their wits of creatures that had not been in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ and were hardly explainable by any means. There was no way to get back to the castle short of flying or Apparating, and both were virtually impossible at the moment.

"Argh... We're going to have to blow our cover once and for all," Kuwabara pointed out to Yusuke, who nodded grimly. Somehow, Dumbledore caught their eye, and gave them a sharp nod that said it all.

Kurama and Thia got the same type of nod, but Hiei was already on the field, his katana slashing away. In bare minutes, the rest of them were down there as well, Kuwabara with his Spirit Sword, Yusuke with his Shot Gun, Kurama with his Rose Whip, and Thia with her Damage Spheres. Their fight was soon the center of attention, though with so many of the students passed out from fright, not much attention was left.

It was like perfect teamwork. Kuwabara and Hiei attacked outright with their swords, and Yusuke fought quite a few with his fists before resorting to the Spirit Gun. Kurama's whip reached those that were out of range, and Thia's spheres swallowed the attacks that were headed towards them as well as quite a few of the demons who produced those attacks.

And then, for some reason, Hermione decided to join the fray, soon followed by Harry (who had left his Firebolt Lord knows where) and a reluctant Ron, all battling with their minimal amounts of Spirit Energy, not fully harnessed.

"Stupid humans. Get yourselves killed, see if any of us care," Hiei yelled over the noise around them, hacking down three demons in one fell swoop.

"Hello, we're trying to help!" Hermione cried out, desperately battling one whose purple teeth were bared and who seemed to want to eat her. It was hit from behind by a green sphere by Thia, who was in turn hit square in the jaw by a very vicious and very strong demon.

And so the battle went, staff and students scattering the dementors above and other students fighting off the demons below. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were deadly tired, though they worked as hard as they could to vanquish the demons. The others were picking up more and more of their slack, but it was not as though they couldn't handle it.

"Go back! It's fine!" Thia told them when she got near to them once again.

It was far from fine, as Tsurin's demons never seemed to end, but the way that the three of them moved, they were more of a hindrance than a help.

"No! We want to help you!"

Thia sighed, but knew that determination was determination.

"Where's Genkai? Why isn't she here helping?" Harry asked Yusuke all of a sudden.

"How'm I supposed to know?"

"She said that she had something with the Order of the Pidgeon or something like that," Kuwabara filled in for his friend.

_Phoenix__,_ Harry thought.

It was at that point when several of the dementors suddenly dove down and started to head towards the group, sucking the happiness right out of them. Yet there was nothing that the eight of them could do, being already occupied with fighting. They depended on the others above them to take care of it.

No Patronuses came dashing down to help.

Lily Potter's scream rang through Harry's head. _Fight it... Concentrate on the fight..._

An image flashed across Thia's field of vision. A deathly pale face, its once happy eyes now vacant and staring out at her, accusing her, as blood pooled out from the woman's wrist.

Still no Patronuses.

_"Kuronue!"_ That was his own voice calling out... No, he would not listen.

"Shut up, shut up, shut UP!" Thia yelled at the top of her lungs, trying to block out whatever it was that was apparently invading her head. And then: "Dammit, _EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

The silvery rabbit shot out of her wand and joined the stag and the fox, who had both burst out of their respective wands just moments before, and together they drove off the dementors.

As those three dealt with that problem, Hiei zipped around, cutting down demons faster than the blink of an eye. Kuwabara was behind him, trying to match him kill for kill, though with the human's inferior speed, it was becoming increasingly hard. And then... Hiei had the gnawing feeling that if he took off his bandana and opened his Jagan, the pinprick would be back, ready to annoy him.

Like he'd be so stupid as to let that happen.

Yusuke, meanwhile, was extremely frustrated with the fact that he couldn't just use his Shot Gun to take out all of the remaining demons, because he didn't want to hit any of his friends. At least he could use this frustration to take out quite a few with his fists.

Kuwabara was doing quite well with his orange sword, and was keeping up with Hiei as best as he could. Erratic blows and changing sword sizes were all part of his plan, and it worked almost as efficiently as Hiei's speed.

And then they all realized that there were only three living demons left on the field (though there certainly were a lot on that were dead) and no more dementors left in the sky.

"Bindings," Thia said before any of the three left could escape, and they were all bound by green glowing rings. Above, where there were still students, the eight of them heard sobs and hysterical yelling. Then they were all led back to the castle by their Heads of House as the sky above darkened and it threatened to rain, a severe contradiction to the beautiful day it had been only hours before.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all plopped down onto the floor, careful not to sit on any of the dead bodies. From inside his pocket, Harry pulled out the Snitch, sighing at the game that had been won, and yet, would not be celebrated. Hiei sheathed his katana and Kuwabara's Spirit Sword dissipated. Yusuke rubbed his knuckles a bit before scuffing at the grass beneath his feet. Thia took deep, calming breaths and tried to empty her mind of the terrible memory that had plagued her from so long ago. Kurama surveyed the damage inflicted upon the pitch and echoed Harry's sigh as the first drops of April rain began to fall.

Snape came to them first, silent, though he had a look of reluctant approval in his eyes, and took the three captives with him, undoubtedly to the dungeons.

It was then that Albus Dumbledore decided to swoop down on them, and uttered a single word: "Come."

* * *

Author's Notes: Um... I'm extremely sorry that I haven't updated in a few days. I've been trying to fix up my... erm... novel-in-the-works. embarrassed grin (Yes, I want to be the next JK Rowling.) In any case: I have over 100 reviews!!! Thanks sooooo much for putting up with me!!! happy dance... happy dance... happy dance... I hope that my attempt at a Quidditch game as well as an all-out battle were all right. Also, about the Quidditch players: I remembered the Beaters, I remembered the Seekers, I remembered the Keepers, but I wasn't sure about the Chasers... If any of them (Slytherins or Gryffindors) were seventh years in OotP (like I think Warrington was), well then let's say that they got left behind for another year. I was too lazy to look it up... sue me... On second thought, don't. About the memories: I know, I suck. But I couldn't think anything up for the rest of them (I didn't even want to dream about Hiei's... shiver) and I wasn't all too sure of Kurama's, though I _did_ try. And finally, I'd like to know if anyone would like another look at the Dark Side. Firstly, it's my specialty, and secondly... actually, my 'secondly' is a secret that includes a clue no one seems to have picked up on in the last Dark Side chapter (or at least no one's asked me about)... Then again, I don't know if y'all want another chapter like the last one. Well, vote and review, if you feel like it...

**_Responses:_**

_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters, shadowkitsune, TTrunks, EverKitsune and Slave2anime Thank you so much for the reviews!!! (And the information.)_

_Kurapika-Kuruta It's a bit late, but at least it's here, right? Thank you!_

_Rose lol... I'm very proud to say that I finally got two Yu Yu Hakusho manga! It put me in a very happy mood, which is why this chapter finally got written._

_Mike the Great Woohoo! Someone got it!!! The conniving and delusional Gollum was my inspiration for Lord Tsurin, whose original name was Lord Bob! No, seriously, it was..._


	18. And the Mystery Deepens

DISCLAIMER: This author does not claim possession of Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter.

Chapter 18: And the Mystery Deepens

The moment they stepped into his office, the headmaster began to speak.

"No doubt the owls will be assailing me within a few hours. The situation will be deemed too dangerous for any of the students to remain at Hogwarts, and no doubt it is true. Most of the guardians will want one of two things: their children back or extreme precautions to be taken for the safety of their children. As your-" he gestured towards the Spirit Detective and co. "-cover has been utterly demolished (for a very good reason, I assure you), there is nothing else to do but to disclose the truth that you are, in fact, the school's new security team. It cannot be helped, even if many of the guardians will think entrusting their children to other children (forgive me, but that will be their perception) is the most cracked decision I've ever made. Undoubtedly I will be advised to go to St. Mungo's for a check-up on my mental health."

"Cuckoo, cuckoo..." Thia softly sing-songed, completely unaware that she was doing so.

Everyone stared and sweat-dropped. A sparkle appeared in Dumbledore's blue eyes, Kurama looked like he wanted to laugh, Hiei was on the verge of rolling his eyes, Kuwabara and Yusuke gave her a 'Yeah, sure, _you're_ not crazy' look, Ron gave her a look that was half frightened and half disbelieving, Harry gave a short, uncertain laugh, and Hermione had her brow furrowed.__

"Uh... Oops? Sorry, bad habit. I- uh, never mind," she said sheepishly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. They looked at her a moment more, and then turned back to Dumbledore. He was quickly serious.

"But the problem that this all boils down to is this: the three of you were fighting with them. I am sure that you learned that style of fighting from Professor Genkai, although the point of her presence was merely to inform during your lessons with her. My only hope is that no one remembers that detail."

Seven of them nodded (Hiei muttered a 'Hn') and then they all (Dumbledore included) exited the office, though the three original students had no idea that they were going down to the dungeons.

"PUU!" the little blue wonder squealed panickedly as it barreled down the corridor at its top speed, and launched itself into Yusuke.

"What the hell?!" the said person yelped.

"Hey look!" yelled someone down the corridor. The eight students and the headmaster soon saw what the target of the comment was. Or rather, who it was.

"BOTAN?!" Sure enough, the blue-haired girl came speeding towards them, her black robes streaming behind her. It was fairly odd to see her in something that actually matched the myths about her profession as a grim reaper.

"Hey, Harry, what model do you think it is?" Ron asked, motioning to the 'broom' that Botan was riding.

"Uh... Cleansweep? I dunno. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen."

"Boys," Hermione sighed. "Look closely at the end of it," she pointed out. However, as Botan stopped in front of them, her 'broom' disappeared into nothingness, which was proof enough for both boys that it wasn't as it had first seemed.

"Headmaster, there's an emergency!"

Yusuke opened his mouth to let loose a 'Did they run out of your hair dye?' joke, but was swept into the office once again before he could even start it. Well, that and the fact that Puu was perched upon his favorite spot once more- Yusuke's head. Oh, annoyances.

"Hey, Botan, why's Puu with you? Isn't he supposed to be with Kayko or something like that?" asked Kuwabara.

"It was urgent! Puu had to deliver something to Genkai, and she had to nurse him back to health, because those overseas flights really aren't good fo-"

"Get on with the story, Botan," Yusuke interrupted. Knowing Botan, a thirty second story could be stretched out for a whole lot longer than it was worth listening to.

"If I didn't make it, then at least Puu would have a chance to get here. Three members of the Order were attacked in Knock- I mean, were attacked about a half an hour ago. Kingsley's nursing a few bruises, and Remus is a bit worse for the wear, though it could be because it's about that time of the month-"

"Whoa, too much info!" Yusuke and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison.

"He's a werewolf! Don't- You-" Hermione tried to explain. She, Botan, and Thia looked like they wanted to strangle the two.

_"BOYS,_" the three sighed in exasperation. The group in question (er, excepting Hiei) all opened their mouths to protest, but were silenced by a gesture from the headmaster.

"Yes, so Genkai was also among them, and she managed to ward off the attackers without too much attention being drawn to the fight. Before she got rid of the last one, though, he revealed that another attack would be taking place today, here at Hogwarts," the grim reaper finished.

"Ah. Unfortunately, the attack has already occurred, and I highly doubt that another one is on its way. Was the mission successful?" Dumbledore asked, and Botan nodded.

"Genkai will be making a full report as soon as she gets back, but she said to tell you that-" the blue-head's voice dropped dramatically low, "-_it's been sold already._"

Confusion reigned.

And then Snape shot into the room. The room lost the eerie, dramatic silence that Botan had created with her statement, and Snape's heavy breathing was heard by everyone. He looked a bit disheveled, though running can do that to a person.

For Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the sight of a tousled Snape was utterly appalling, and completely out of character for him.

"They've...been...dissolved. Again," he panted.

"No matter, Severus. We have already gained the information that we need. Thank you for the warning. Mister Filch will have to be informed of the mess."

Had he been a lesser person, Snape would have had a 'You've got to be _kidding _me' face on. However, he only nodded and exited the room.

* * *

"Is anyone else wondering what the mission was, where they went, and what was sold?" Yusuke asked as they loitered around by the lake. 

"No, Yusuke. Botan's answer was completely sufficient," said Thia seriously.

"Maybe for you-"

"Idiot, I was being sarcastic. So, who's going to review the facts for us?" she asked.

Heads snapped towards Hermione.

"All right. Who was involved? Genkai, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Remus Lupin. Oh, and some mysterious attackers. What happened? They were attacked. When did it occur? Over half an hour ago. Where did it occur? Knock-something. Why did it happen? I think it's safe to assume that they were investigating the Object. Or, at least, trying to see if it had been sold. Or were selling it," Hermione finished.

"And now we need to find out what that Knock-something is. Any clues?"

"So bossy," someone muttered, looking at Thia.

"Knock... Sounds a bit like-"­

"Knocksville," interrupted Kuwabara, who was just throwing together any old thing. (a.n.: I am fully aware that it's a real place in Tennessee, and it's spelled Knoxville.)

"-Knockturn Alley," Harry said, not seeming to hear the carrot-haired one.

"What kind of place is Knockturn Alley?" Kurama asked.

"Dodgy sort of place. Supposed to be a good place to get a lot of Dark Arts materials that you can't get at Diagon Alley," was Ron's explanation. "It's really creepy. I'll eat my shoes if You-Know-Who's not hiding out near there."

No one needed to say that this was the type of place that Hiei might one day like to check out. It was mutually understood.

"Knockturn Alley, then. What we need, then, is what the Object is." Hermione thought for a moment.

It was Thia who all of a sudden said, "For all we know, the Object that was sold was a snot green stuffed monkey that Dumbledore can't live without. There aren't any clues at all. Or at least any that Dumbledore and Botan gave us."

With that statement, the rest of the group fell silent, and stayed that way until someone got impatient.

"Your stupidity is amazing. The thing that was stolen enables its wearer to travel between worlds, and it was sold to one of Tsurin's men. Obviously," Hiei burst out, shocking nearly everyone in the vicinity. "If you couldn't figure that out, it's a wonder you got this far."

"Calm down, Hiei," Kurama admonished.

"Yeah, it was your turn to speak. We were just waiting."

The short fire demon stared at Thia's grin.

"So. Who's up for research?"

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry that my updates have become so sporadic! My excuse: I'm entering high school in September and I've been putting my summer reading off for too long... I'm such a procrastinator. 

And just so you know, I fully intended to make this chapter extremely serious. If I failed, it's because my sense of humor can't stop getting in the way (for which I am eternally grateful). That and the fact that one of the fanfictions I'm reading at the moment is hilarious and I'm so giddy I can't write straight.

If you hate bad news, skip this: My infernal family is making me go on vacation once again. (I _will_ have my revenge, mark my words.) And this time it'll be for the _entire month._ I have no idea how many idiots I will have to withstand this time (sounds harsh and a bit Hiei-ish, I know, but it's the truth), but I have no doubt that someone will be given a fatal injury by the time the month is over. Vengeance shall be mine... But anyway, hopefully I'll be able to present you with a sufficient amount of chapters when I get back. Hell, I might even finish this fic on vacation. (Hope so.)

Well, anyway, review, please! I'll need a pick-me-up when I finally get home.

**_Responses:_**

_**Mike the Great- **I'm desperately trying to come up with their [Ron, Hermione, and Harry] weapons, but my imagination just won't work when I tell it to. Thanks for reviewing!_

**_DarkMystic_**-_Thank you!_

**_xKitsunex_**-_Minnesota, huh? How was it? I'm looking forward to those long reviews!!!_

**_Rose_**-_I also happen to do the hair-behind-the-ears thing. Oh boy, the YYH gang in LOTR costumes... hysterical laughter... calms down Yeah, I think that Sirius would definitely be in one of the dementor-induced-dream-thingies. Wow, I really screwed that sentence up. Um, my novel: It's a bit more complicated than this, but here goes: She's the coldest of killers and the highest-ranking of spirits. However, when Kana is defeated by a human, has her powers stolen, and is thrown into the Human World, you can bet she wants vengeance. Throw in a few sarcastic (and one blind) elves, an exiled prince, a flirt, a mysterious Hiei-like ex-gang member, Faith's Wanderer (who also happens to be an ex-gang member), and another one of those cryptic, annoying, want-to-kill-the-idiot-who-said-it prophecies, and you've got my potential novel._


	19. The Pearl of Three Worlds

DISCLAIMER: Rogueicephoenix does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, though she does have vivid hallucinations about it. The only things she owns are Thia, Tsurin, and The Pearl of Three Worlds.

Chapter 19: The Pearl of Three Worlds

"Yusuke, wake up. Don't drool on the books or someone'll have your head," Thia yawned.

"But it's so boooooring!" the Spirit Detective whined. And it was true. The books about ancient magical artifacts were boring, not to mention specific (a.n.: ...and longer than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...). Take, for instance, a passage on the Peridot of Peril: _'...The gem had exactly 1,005,767 scratches on its surface as of 1975, all having a breadth that ranges from a millimeter to 1/10,034 of that size. It is unknown if any of these scratches have any real significance, whether to the power that the Peridot wields or to the age of the gem, and so it is held with the utmost care. Usually, the owner handles it with gloves of the finest Chinese silk...' _Not only was all of that information useless, but it was time consuming, as well.

The only ones who were actually still reading were the "go-getter, suck-up, teacher's pet, braniacs," as Yusuke had so poetically put it, looking at Thia, Kurama, and Hermione in turn. At the moment, though, Thia wanted to throw the book in front of her right off the top of the Astronomy tower. She'd read the same sentence over and over, not really understanding it and not really remembering it.

Kuwabara was snoring and Madame Pince was glaring at him. Hiei had made up some cruddy lie a while ago about how he had homework to do, and how he'd be back later. Yeah, right. Like Hiei did any of his homework. (Did he even know what the classes he was taking actually were?) Ron, on the other hand, had been pretending to read one page over and over for the last hour or so. The glazed look that had taken over his eyes was proof of otherwise. And then Harry was looking out the window, his lips moving silently whenever a bird passed by. He completely unaware that he was counting fowl, as he'd had a bewildered look when Hermione had asked him what he was doing. Kurama looked frustrated, though he seemed to be trying to hide it. Hermione was sighing every so often, quite loudly at times.

An insane idea occurred to Thia all of a sudden. Well, perhaps not all of a sudden, as she'd been cooking up the strength to ask Kurama the idiotic question for about a half an hour. _So much for being practical and brilliant, _her brain said. _I'll sound either bored or extremely weird._ She gave the red-head sitting beside her a tiny nudge.

"Pick a number," she whispered when she'd gotten his attention.

It earned Thia a strange look, but his response told her that Kurama was either even more bored than she or he had a similar sense of humor.

"From what number to what number?"

"One-thirty-seven to 10,000."

"You're further ahead than I am," Kurama commented before giving thought to the question.

"Yeah, but mine has larger print, too."

The answer that she got was 5,140, which she flipped to in her book. Closing her eyes, the girl ran her finger over the text before stopping at a random spot.

"The Pearl of Three Worlds," she read aloud. "Blah blah blah, _is said to possess the power to transport its wearer to and from the three mystical lands of legend: the World Beyond, the World of the Damned, and the World of Life. _Blah blah blah, _was last in the possession of Werenus the Worldly, who allegedly sold it to a merchant in Knockturn Alley dealing in Dark Arts merchandise, though this was never proved._ Wow. I didn't think that would actually work. Thanks, Suichi." _Whoa, too weird. _

"No problem," the red-head said, quite obviously thinking the same thing.

"Hold on there. We did all of this stupid, boring research for nothing?! All we would've had to do was give you a number?! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Yusuke yelled in fury.

"Urameshi, out! Out, out, out!" Madam Pince loudly whispered, just as furiously.

* * *

"So here's my hypothesis: The Order set a trap for Tsurin's people to walk into, but things got out of hand and Genkai got her ass kicked, letting the bad guys to escape with the Pearl," Yusuke finished triumphantly. They were back outside, sitting under a certain tree (and in it, too) next to the lake. Unsurprisingly, no one else had decided to enjoy what remained of the early evening. It wouldn't shock any of them in the least if the rest of the student body was hiding in some bathroom stall or under the four poster beds. According to Hiei (who had mysteriously reappeared after they'd been booted out of the library), Malfoy was still sopping wet and nauseatingly fetid from both crying with terror as well as wetting his pants continuously. Apparently, Daddy dearest had forgotten to mention a certain traumatizing event.

"Wow, Yusuke, you know the word 'hypothesis'. Astonishing," Thia drawled, and rolled her eyes.

"Hn. Someone probably had to beat it into him. The detective wouldn't know a word like that if it ran up and bit his ass," Hiei speculated.

"Okay, enough with the verbal combat," Hermione intervened, ignoring Yusuke and his enraged insults. "How about this: The Order didn't find out about the Pearl's location until it was too late. So, when they finally got there, Tsurin's men had already bought it and were about to return home. Then they broke out into a fight as a distraction so that the person with the Pearl could escape."

Yusuke made a patronizing sound in his throat.

"Yeah. Like _that_ could ever happen."

"Go nurse your pride somewhere else, Urameshi. Her guess is way better than yours," Kuwabara said, nodding slightly at Hermione.

"Gee, Kuwabara, are you cheating on Yukina?" No one noticed Ron's expression at that moment; it was sort of like a cartoon fish going 'glub, glub, glub.'

"Shut up! I would never stray from my love for the beautiful and perfect Yukina!" the Gryffindor protested. Kurama wondered if the steam coming out of Hiei's ears was only a part of his imagination or if the fire demon was actually that mad.

"Suuuure. All right. Then explain why grandma wasn't able to get the Pearl if her ass didn't get kicked? Hmm?" Yusuke continued, determined to prove that Hermione's theory was wrong.

"Well... I think that first of all, she was held off by the henchmen. And secondly, if she also had to protect two regular wizards as well, then she couldn't just run off and abandon them, could she?" Upon Hermione's face there seemed to be a bit of a smug little look that clearly stated, 'I'm right, and we all know it'. Yusuke only scowled.

"What else do we know about this Pearl, aside from what Thia read aloud?" questioned Hermione. It was Kurama who answered, his voice low and thoughtful, as though he was trying to dredge up information that he'd learned in the distant past and wasn't sure that he remembered fully.

"In order to use it, one must have one of two things: Either a pure heart or a hundred sacrifices, preferably demon, but anything with a soul would do. The first trip from the Human to Demon World is free, but if you don't pay the Pearl for any time after that, it devours your heart and soul and returns to its former master. Accordingly, it was created to form a more peaceful union between the three worlds, but it didn't work out that way. It has had a very bloody past, especially while in the Demon World. At one point it was the prized possession of an extremely rich and powerful demon leader, though his security system was an utter failure and the Pearl was stolen from him. It then exchanged hands quite a few times before ending up in the Human World. Also, there is a limited amount of places where one could travel to in the Human World, called Sacred Sites, where the supernatural forces are at their peak. Most of them are in Europe and Eurasia," Kurama finished.

"Let me guess. You were the one who stole it, weren't you?" said Yusuke.

"I did it to spite the demon lord," Kurama defended himself. "That was before I realized how high maintenance it was. I had no use for it and so I managed to sell it for a very high price. I completely forgot about it." A slight smile graced the red-head's lips. Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked at each other, more than a little confused.

"So...if Tsurin is able to get the sacrifices and gets into the Human World, what could possibly stop him from ravaging the entire world?" Hermione asked finally.

"Nothing. We're all really screwed," said Ron worriedly, a look of utter terror crossing his face, at which Hermione heaved a great sigh and rolled her eyes.

Thia only cocked an eyebrow. "No, idiot. What _always _gets in the way of evil that tries to destroy the Human World? Us."

"And I suppose you have a brilliant plan?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"No. We'll probably have to wing it a couple of steps of the way. I'm not Velma, you know." The chirps of crickets filled the silence. "Oh, you know. From Scooby Doo. The nerdy one with the glasses and the ugly hairdo. She always made up the plans and stuff." Still the crickets. "Jeez, talk about non-existent childhoods. And in any case, do you usually have a plan when you go and face the forces of evil?"

"No," was the reply from both Harry and Yusuke. It figured. Both were the epitome of the term 'hero'. Impulsive, courageous in the face of danger, hard-headed (in the literal sense of the word), prone to getting injured and then miraculously recovering enough to fight the last battle... and the list went on.

Thia snorted at their reply, but it was Hiei who retorted, "Hn. Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots."

Hermione and Kuwabara looked deeply insulted. Kurama and Thia only looked at one another and tried not to smile.

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm back!! (That's certainly stating the obvious.) Praise be, I was able to put together two chapters: this one and chapter 20 (another Dark Side chapter—it needs a _lot _of editing), not to mention a part of chapter 21 and some various other parts of the story. (And I wrote up another chapter or two of the deleted scenes.) I had to put together the history and the conditions of using The Pearl of Three Worlds before I could finally type this up, and it took me forever to do that. However, now that that's done, I can rest easy because I know a lot of the future happenings. My only real problem is putting in some good Thia-Kurama and Ron-Hermione action because that's what I promised and I need to live up to it.

And now I'll bitch about my vacation! It wasn't actually that bad, except for when my mom tried to get me to be nice to Mr. Monkey when he called me a "lesbo bitch" (though she doesn't know this and she never will), which I'm not. I don't think. I was seriously debating whether to chop off a finger or a foot. There was also that part where my mom wouldn't buy any Pepsi or Coke for two days after we ran out and the only thing left was either water, Sprite (I hate that it's non-caffeinated), or my brother's Nestea. Her reasoning was that she wouldn't get it until I got out of the house for once and went with her. There. I'm finished bitching. A good point, though, was that I got to see my godson, his brother (who's like my nephew), and my sort-of cousin-from-LA-who-is-also-my-godson's-godfather. Which, when you really think about it, makes you wonder: If you and another person are godparents, does that make you god-married, or something? I hope not. (No offense, Ralph.)

And now: I have a question that I want to pose for anyone interested: What does the term "Pure heart" mean? If you don't answer this, I won't like you any less. It's just to satisfy my own curiosity. _Bobby:_ ::_snorts:: You're only asking that 'cause you don't know what it means, you loser! ::gags Bobby:: _So: Please review!

**_Responses:_**

_Mike the Great—Thanks for the suggestion and for reviewing!_

_Kuramakicksass—Ooh, goodie; I've needed a suggestion in terms of my fanfiction reading habits! (I've been reading too much InuYasha and Saiyuki fanfiction for my own good!) Thanks!_

_Meghann/ Kitsune—Yes! Long reviews! I luv 'em!...Pansy and Millicent are so possessive. I think they might have to see a shrink about their problems with clinginess!...I'm so bad with shopping and looking at anything dealing with anime! I went on vacation with a single volume of manga and came back with five...Dark Lords are so delusional and cuddly, aren't they? I love toying with their minds!...You shower me with so many compliments!...I HAVE FOUND A PERSON LIKE MYSELF!!! Thia's 'cuckoo, cuckoo…' problem is my problem as well!... Botan, that cheat! That's a quality oar and she just rips off the maker...So sorry for the confusion about what Snape meant! (That's the only confusion that I'm allowed to clear up for you... Bobby's very strict about what I tell to my readers) He only meant that Tsurin had once again dissolved his henchmen into little puddles of yellowy slime. Tsurin's just a really nice guy, isn't he?...About school: a postponement of doom means doom all the same. sheepish grin Sorry if I've wasted your time on my long-winded responses!_

_And to anyone who cares—In chapter 21, Malfoy is coming out of the hole that Hiei and Bobby pushed him into after chapter 17. I just felt like mentioning that._


	20. Plots and Plans and Evil Lords

DISCLAIMER: The only things I own are Thia, The Pearl of Three Worlds, and Tsurin. I'd gladly give the rights of The Pearl and Tsurin away. In exchange, all I want is Kurama. Please? Pretty-pretty please???

Chapter 20: Plots and Plans and Evil Lords

The golden thread-like chain twinkled in the gloom of the cave. It was beautiful enough on its own, but with a certain ¾ inch stone hung upon it, it was perfectly delicate, and fit for a princess.

It was quite out of place in the calloused and wrinkling hands of the bloodthirsty and maniacal Lord Tsurin. Few could call this demon handsome, particularly with his ugly blue-gray skin that was more gray than blue, his conniving yellow and orange eyes, and deteriorating fangs. Not only that, but where once was firm muscles now was flabby hanging tissue. His nails curled beneath his fingers, yellow and fungus-y. Not handsome? Yeah, right. More like disgusting. And there was no beautiful personality to make up for his lack of attractiveness.

Was it a wonder that he had no heir?

But now the lord made a signal to the guard at the door, which the guard then pulled open to reveal a horrific sight of starved and shackled hostages, a hundred of them. They were demons, many of them defenseless and terrified. After all, Tsurin couldn't very well afford any volunteers, could he? He could, however, afford to use slaves and servants he'd acquired over the years.

They stood all in a circle surrounding a symbol marked on the stone floor with iron. A triangle in a circle. Tsurin made his way to the very center, ignoring the pleas that assailed him as he did so, his footsteps heavy with his weight. Then he began the chant in a language never heard by humans ever before:

_"O, Sacred __Pearl__ of the Three:_

_Your master implores you_

_To let him go free_

_Between the worlds you bind._

_He offers you this gift:_

_A hundred demon souls."_

As soon as Lord Tsurin had finished, a loud rushing noise was heard and the pearl around his neck began to give off an evil black light. Terrified beyond belief, the sacrifices began to struggle against their shackles, screeching at the top of their lungs when they found that their feet stuck fast to the floor.

Complete darkness consumed the room and the screeches were cut short. The cave began to shudder menacingly, and had anyone been unoccupied, they would've wondered if it might collapse.

Then, light, in the form of mysteriously re-lit candles, cast itself all over the cave. There was nothing left of the sacrifices except their empty shackles. No bodies. No skeletons. No clothes. Just shackles.

Lord Tsurin had been hoping to see more carnage, but smiled all the same. The plan was working deliciously.

* * *

An annoying '_wheeeeee!'_-ing sound made its way to Voldemort's ears. How he just wanted to **_smash _**that damned Communication Plate! How could an evil lord concentrate on his world domination plans when the thing just went off, completely breaking his focus? 

"This is Lord Voldemort," he answered the plate. That ugly fool, Tsurin, was on the other end.

"Ah, Voldemort! I've done my part. Now it's your turn. And make sure you don't screw up, human!" With that the demon turned away from the Communication Plate on his end.

_How DARE he even INSINUATE that I, the DARK LORD Voldemort might... SCREW UP!_

Somehow, he managed to get his anger under control and hung up his end of the plate. (He wanted sooo badly to just go, _"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!") _He then made his way past his adherents, down a stairwell in their secret hideout, and to the very lowest basement in the place. On the floor of it was a triangle in a circle made of coal and ash. No amount of wind would ever disturb this symbol, though.

Voldemort outstretched his hand over the symbol and uttered the single word that would unlock the binding spell he had put upon the place when he had first come across it.

After all, this was a _secret _hideout. No one was supposed to come across it, using the Pearl or otherwise, except for who he decided would come across it.

That done, the Dark Lord took out the plate once more and summoned Tsurin.

"It's done, you great oaf," were the words that he spoke, and turned the device off again. There! That would show that imbecile to insult the one and only Lord Voldemort!

* * *

The agitation that the demon lord felt was drowned out by elation. His fleeting thought was merely _Betrayal will be so sweet._

Finally! Lord Tsurin reveled in the feeling of triumph. Or, well, near-triumph. So his last three attempts to finish off the team of that foolish Spirit World prince had failed... miserably. Even dark lords had their off days! There would be no mistakes this time around, of that he was completely sure.

But in any case, the ritual of the Pearl went on. He stood perfectly still in the middle of the triangle and chanted:

_Pearl__ of Wisdom and Power_

_With the sacrifice of souls and blood_

_Deliver me this hour_

_Into the World of Life._

_Send my body and soul_

_To the fifth Sacred Site_

_Blackened by ash and coal-_

_Deliver me."_

A rush was delivered to Tsurin's head and the world went black.

* * *

The sight of a dazed and dizzy Lord Tsurin almost made Lord Voldemort laugh. Almost. Rather, he just gave the disheveled-looking demon a cold glare. 

"Lord Tsurin. At last we meet in person."

"Ha! You look as weak as you always did, Voldemort! Hah!" And with that Lord Tsurin collapsed on the floor. His host swept out of the room in an icy rage.

"Wormtail!" he barked at the Animagus. "Lord Tsurin is in the basement. See that he is taken proper care of."

_Take the trash out where it belongs,_ a part of the evil lord's mind screamed at him. However, he needed to make plans. And these plans included the foolish and treacherous, though undoubtedly useful, Lord Tsurin of the Demon World.

* * *

**_Responses:_**

_Karuto-chan—I'm sorry that I forgot to thank you in the last chapter!_

_Minakara, YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan/Hiei=Hot, the Legendary Beckster, and slave2anime—Thank you, thank you, thank you! (x1,000,000)_

_TTrunks—Thanks so much for answering my question-thingy!_

_fleetgoddess14—The school is- _Bobby: That's undisclosable information, isn't it, r.i.p? ::death glare:: _Erm, well, the answer to your question is in the next chapter, so stay tuned!_

_Rose—::hands you a pint of EverFreez Breakthrough Berry Ice Cream:: Once again because you mentioned the word 'kissage'! Thanks for answering the question as well as for taking the time to review!_

_Meghann/xKitsunex—heh-heh...Um. What e-mail?... lol... I triple-checked that I'd packed the butcher knives before I left home. And I took along a bottle of rat poison. You know. JIC the house had rodents. Or monkeys. ::cough:: Anyway! My brothers don't call me names anymore. I kinda... kicked them. And I may have thrown a couple of shoes. And, um, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Violence sure solves everything, doesn't it? Well, thanks for reviewing and for answering my question!___

* * *

Author's Note: Are you wondering why Tsurin's so lucid all of a sudden? So am I. Yeah, yeah, this chapter is short (the story part isn't even 1,000 words long!) and I'm not all that sure that the last Dark Side chapter was all that much of a success, but I wanted to explain the Pearl a little further, and what it's like. I'm nuts, I know. I've written down an entire history for the damn thing and I don't want all of that time and effort to go to waste.

And I know that my attempt at poetry, or at least my attempt at rhyming verses, were bad. I'll just say that in the original language they rhymed, but in English, not so.

I just thought of something. Should I create a sequel to this fic, like when they're in the final year? I've got a wicked idea planned if I decide to do it and my reviewers don't bail out on me... ::evil laughter::

Review!!!


	21. What's Normal, Again?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. I'm brilliant, but I'm not that brilliant! ::bragbragbrag:: No, but I do own the Perching Persniffle.

Chapter 21: What's Normal, Again?

Albus Dumbledore watched as his school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, awoke. The students were scared, and looked over their backs and around corners. It pained the headmaster to see them so. This was not what was meant for them. His students were not meant to be paranoid and terrified. The two lords and their war had gone too far.

The students, as they woke up, flocked to the Great Hall, silent. They would have breakfast and then wait, silent and impatient, for the makeshift assembly that had been scheduled for later that day.

And then, suddenly, rising up above the stifling silence, peals of laughter made its way to the headmaster's ears. Dumbledore's watchful eye shifted to the source of the sound and smiled. Thianadel Sherwood laughed uncontrollably at some story or other told to her and the rest of the group by none other than Harry Potter, with comments by Ronald Weasley.

It was probably something having to do with the Weasley twins.

Whatever it was, it brought smiles and laughter, if not to the rest of the school, then to a small group. And it brought back a twinkle in Dumbledore's eye.

Today was the day that he would announce the peculiar arrangement that he had made for the security and survival of the school and its occupants. Today was the day that the families of the students would receive the letters reassuring them about the safety of their children. And today was the day that the five "transfer students" would begin to be feared and possibly shunned.

* * *

The headmaster's audience was extremely tense and restless. They were listening, but were unfocused. Eyes shifted from one side of the room to the other, always skipping over those odd transfers. Where had they learned to do that stuff? It wasn't taught at Hogwarts, that much was for certain. And if they were so advanced, why did they come in the first place?

Draco Malfoy looked like a wreck. He was _trying _to act like the cool and all-around great guy that he was, but the façade just kept on slipping. It didn't help at all that he was pale, even by his usual standards, and his perfectly platinum hair was not quite as perfect as it usually was. Every so often he ran a trembling hand through it in an impression of one of those suave American guys in the 1950's who had lost his plastic black comb and hair gel. It only served to make him seem more nerve wracked.

How could his father neglect to mention this to him? Didn't it mean something to him that Draco was his only son? It was enough to make the Slytherin wonder what he'd done wrong. He'd tried to get revenge on Potter in the past. He'd tried to get revenge on Potter's friends. Though he hadn't completely succeeded, wasn't it enough that Draco had tried?

No, it probably wasn't. His father demanded that Draco be perfect and nearly had a stroke when he'd learned that that Mudblood, that _Granger_ had scored higher in all subjects than he. In the public eye, Draco Malfoy was the apple of- no, make that apple _orchard _of his parents' eyes. But he didn't live up to the standard of perfection that his father demanded. He wasn't even _near_ that category. If it hadn't been for his mother, Draco wondered if maybe, Lucius would have sent him to live with a muggle family, like Potter.

So maybe Lucius had thought that Draco was a disgrace to the family, decided to just let things go as planned, not caring whether Draco lived or died. It was a depressing and hurtful thought, and Draco Malfoy drew in another shaky breath. Well, he'd just have to write to his mother about all of this when he had the time and energy and... emotional strength. For now he'd have to listen to that old dingbat, Dumbledore.

"The deception is up. Recently, a threat has become known. His name is Lord Tsurin, and he is in league with Lord Voldemort." Draco shuddered at Dumbledore's words. "And while Voldemort is a great threat, Tsurin commands an unknown number of supernatural beings such as the ones you saw during the last Quidditch match. They are highly dangerous and quite insusceptible to many spells, charms, curses, and hexes. There is very little that is able to defeat these beings, and very few people in this magical community that can also defeat them. In order to ensure the safety of all of you, I was thus forced to ask for help from outside sources. The help came in the form of Professor Genkai and her students."

That was about the point that Malfoy stopped listening and started thinking. Namely: _I knew it! I knew they were freaks! I knew they were dangerous!_

_But they just saved us from a painful death._

_SO?! That Hiei tried to kill me once, remember?_

That side of the brain had a good point.

* * *

Prefect duties had been nearly tripled, and Hermione was so stressed she looked as though she was going to burst into tears. They had homework piled up so high it was beyond comprehension, not to mention the fact that finals season was fast approaching. Late April would turn into May and June in no time at all, and Hermione felt positively sure that this year's finals would be hell. She and Ron had to watch out for those bratty little first years, keep up with classes, and keep an eye out for those bloody demons, not to mention sleep. Hermione had forgotten to eat lunch three days in a row before her friends (namely Thia, who had actually noticed her absence- Ron and Harry were wrapped up in their own stresses) finally dragged her down to the Great Hall and stood over her to make sure that she ate.

Speaking of Thia, she was getting more depressed as the days wore on. Padma and the other girls she'd befriended had been avoiding her. It was a completely adverse effect than what she had expected following Dumbledore's speech. Shouldn't they be curious or grateful or _something?_ This was just the cold shoulder!

The rest of the Spirit World team had such qualms. Yusuke and Kuwabara rather liked the fact that no one dared to even look at them. (It felt a bit like Sarayashiki Junior High, to tell the truth.) Hiei, of course, was no longer being bumped into by those taller students in the halls. (Unfortunately, that also meant less intimidation practice.) And Kurama was particularly happy without his usual horde of loyal followers trailing him at a distance and trying to be nonchalant while saying things like, "Oh, Suichi, I think I'm failing Potions. Would it be too much to ask if you would tutor me?" And he would have to say politely, "I'm very sorry, but I already promised that I would help someone else," or something else like that. (At least he was telling the truth. Thia couldn't spell any of the magical ingredients if you gave her the world, so Kurama had to read over her essays before she handed them in.)

The novelty of it wore off quickly, though, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were itching for another fight. Genkai was back, yes, but she hadn't been practicing with them. In fact, they barely saw her, and the one time her apprentice cornered her about it, she grew annoyed and said, "I'm a teacher, you idiot. _You _aren't my main concern. I have finals to create."

"Pssh. So?"

"So? SO? THAT WAS A HINT, YUSUKE! FINALS, YOU DIMWIT! _You will pass every one of these finals or if Kayko doesn't already have your head, I will!" _the old master snarled. She was certainly irratable today.

"Jeez, if you want me to pass the stupid things so bad, why don't you just give me all of the answers? That'll make it easie-"

"YOU IDIOT, YOU'RE GOING TO PASS THESE ON YOUR OWN! _DO YOU HEAR ME, YUSUKE?!"_

"GODDAMMIT, OF COURSE I HEAR YOU! YOU'RE YELLING IN MY DAMN EAR!"

"**_DETENTION!_**"

And that was the end of that.

* * *

Kurama watched Thia from his vantage point of across the table as he and Thia did their homework or studied in the common room. He wasn't necessarily looking at her outright, but rather glanced at her every so often.

Her black hair was confined to its customary ponytail, though quite a few strands still rebelled and were freed from their bindings, and Kurama resisted the impulse to push them back. Her eyes were concentrated on nothing at all, though she had a book opened in her hands. She was thinking, a look of great focus on her face and she gnawed at her lip involuntarily. Thia was completely unaware of her surroundings, and what's more, was completely oblivious to Kurama's emerald gaze.

And he wanted it that way.

That wasn't to say that he didn't like looking into her earthy green eyes and talking to her, because that was far from the truth. He just liked to watch Thia when she was... _there._ When she was silent and motionless, when she was contemplating the latest problem, when she was like this, Kurama found that he wanted to be in her calming presence.

But Thia was entrancing no matter how silent or how loud she was, and his gaze was drawn to her.

He just didn't know why he was thinking about this. About her.

"That display that you created the other day was quite splendid," Luna Lovegood said rather abruptly. Both the fox and his friend were startled, not having remembered that she was there, and Kurama wrenched his gaze from Thia to look at 'Loony'.

"At first, I was outraged because those things looked remarkably like a Perching Persniffle, which are becoming increasingly hard to find, though later I realized that they were running around more than they were actually perching. But in any case, I don't see why anyone is ignoring you. Maybe they're just jealous because you can do things that they can't. I think that it's very cool."

"I'd never... quite thought of it that way, Luna. Thank you," Kurama said cautiously, trying not to ask what in the world a Perching Persniffle was. At least they had one person talking to them, no matter how mentally unstable she might be.

"It's too bad that they weren't persniffles, though. I'm quite sure my father would be glad to have an eye-witness account of this incident. He runs the Quibbler, you know."

"I love the Quibbler," Thia replied distractedly. "It's the best literary magazine around. Such colorful stories."

* * *

"Don't you wonder-"

"Yes. I do. I wonder," Ron answered, scratching out an entire paragraph of an essay.

"-how those demons got onto the Quidditch field in the first place?" Hermione continued as she quadruple-checked her homework.

"Um. No. The Pearl, I guess," Harry muttered. The entire thing gave him the biggest headache. He wished that everything was simple, like it was before Hogwarts. He'd wake up, help with breakfast, get picked on by the Dursleys, go to school, get picked on by Dudley, eat lunch, get picked on by Dudley, go home, get picked on by Dudley, finish homework, eat dinner, get picked on by Dudley, go to sleep, dream of getting picked on by Dudley, and so on and so forth. A horrible existence, to be sure, but it was predictable. But after that letter, everything was a curveball. Sometimes Harry wondered if he was happy about that or not.

"The Pearl hadn't been bought yet."

"Oh. Then. Er. Whatever. Just give it a rest, all right?"

Hermione looked horrified at the thought.

"But there could be a mole among us!"

"A mole like the birthmark or a mole like those ugly things underground?" Ron asked, utterly confused, not only by Hermione, but also by the complicated ways of nymphs and sprites and how to deal with them, upon which his essay was written.

His friend looked disgusted. "A mole as in a spy who infiltrated our side. Someone who could've let those demons in." The two boys looked at one another for a moment before turning back. Hermione had something on her mind and she'd never just let it go.

"So who d'you think it is, then?"

"Hiei," was her immediate response. Harry and Ron looked at her incredulously.

"But- I mean- You were the one who said, and I quote, 'If the others have faith in Hiei, then so do I!'"

"I'm entitled to change my mind, aren't I, Ron? I mean, come on. First he knows what the object is, then he skips out on research- What if he put us on the completely wrong track all together?"

"That doesn't seem likely, now does it?" Harry interjected.

"Well- well, I think it was Minamino!"

"Do you have any proof, Ron? Or are you just jealous of him again?" Hermione asked, her voice rising in volume. "And _you _were the one who called Hiei a little brute and said he would raise hell at Hogwarts!"

"Yeah, well I'm _entitled _to change my mind, all right!" Ron shouted back.

"THEN SEE?! If YOU'RE entitled, then I'M entitled!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" The back of Ron's neck and his ears were an interesting shade of sun-fried-skin red.

"Excuse me, but did you two get married without my knowledge?" Harry asked quietly. It was utterly hilarious to see the changes on their faces. Furious red to sheet white, then embarrassed pink. Harry tried to control the laughter bubbling up inside him.

"I mean, I'm just asking since you sound like an elderly couple squabbling over welfare checks."

Dead silence. Then, a soft, furious, irritated, I-will-kill-you-when-I-get-my-hands-on-you-and-I-don't-care-if-I'm-dooming-the-human-race-because-I-will-have-my-revenge whisper from Hermione: "Harryyyy..."

The green-eyed 16-year-old bolted out of there.

* * *

**_Responses:_**

**_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters—_**_Thanks! I tried to make this a little longer, but I don't know if I made it all just gibberish. My wicked (if I may say so myself) idea is to- _Bobby: Will you stop spilling secrets?! You're not allowed to tell them! The readers will juuuust have to see... _Argh. Well, you heard the alter-ego. I'm not allowed to say._

**_Slave2anime, Shadow Fox777, Minakara, and TTrunks—_**_Thank you!_

**_Rose—_**_More ice cream for you! Thanks for reviewing, and I hope that you liked Kurama's thoughts. I promise that there's gonna be some Thia-Kurama action in the next chapter!_

Author's Note: I dunno why I decided to go into Malfoy's head. I realize that his thoughts are quite dark and may not be very in-character for him, but we all have our little dark insecurities, don't we? In all reality, I don't really like this chapter as much as I did, but what can you do? I've already written the next chapter. And before I forget, I must thank Rose for giving me that line about Ron and Hermione being like an old married couple, which in turn gave me the idea about the welfare check thing... I think I'm psycho.

Oh, and about the Perching (and sometimes Pinching) Persniffle: I'm selling them for $12 each, not including the cage, food, special water, vitamins, claw cleaner, shipping and handling, earplugs, and poison antidote. Just e-mail me and I'll send you one. I accept cash, credit, check, money order, payment on delivery... And I'm not responsible for any damage that the persniffle might cause to any person. They just _happened _to take on the personalities of myself and my _dear _Mr. Monkey. And that means that they're particularly vicious and are good for revenge.

Sorry for my delay in putting up this chapter! I just had the need to finish up the chapter after this before I went and put this one up. Plus, I wanted to get the newest YYH DVD (In the Blood) before I went and did something stupid like... Well, something stupid, anyway. Need I put down examples? But anyway, after watching the damn thing... Dear God, I think I've gone into shock. _Doctor: Stand clear! ::Electrocutes r.i.p.:: _I- It- ::faints:: _Bobby: I'm in shock, too... ::sniffs:: Iwannacry. Yusuke and Puu and Kuwabara and Hiei and Kurama... ::sniffs:: Well, at least we saw Yoko, am I right, r.i.p?_ ::bolts up:: I heard the name Yoko!__


	22. Hype

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. I merely torture the characters.

Chapter 22: Hype

Gradually, everything turned normal again. The first indication of it came in the middle of May, when an outbreak of the Infatuation Bug (closely related to the Love Bug) struck swiftly. It was too late when the rest of the school realized it, and by then it had already affected ¾ of Hogwarts' female population.

The target of their affections? None other than the oh-so-handsome Suichi Minamino.

"He was sooo heroic the other day, remember? Like a Prince Charming!"

"He's trying to protect us! How romantic is that?!"

Thia gagged. _If you only knew that we were here to protect Harry... How _did _we get promoted, anyway???_

"Oh, Thia! You're Suichi Minamino's friend, right?" some Hufflepuff asked.

_Since when does everyone know my nickname?!_

"Nope. I happen to be his private secretary. Do you have any messages that you want me to relay to him?" she asked, her face deadpan and voice extremely serious.

* * *

"How come Kurama has a fanclub and I don't? I deserve equal respect, you know!" Yusuke exclaimed one Saturday, outraged.

"Cheating on Kayko much? You're not exactly a romantic type of figure, Yusuke," Thia informed him.

"I'm not cheating on Kayko! I'm not her boyfriend, anyway!"

"Oh, shut up, Urameshi, 'cause we all know that's not true," Kuwabara solemnly stated.

"And anyway, pity me. I told one girl that I was his secretary as a joke and the thing spread like wildfire. I'm almost as popular as my so-called boss, though thankfully, for waaaay different reasons."

"That was a stupid thing to do. But where are the others?" Yusuke asked, meaning Hiei and the epitome of romance himself, not to mention the suddenly missing Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Hiei's probably haunting the dungeons or . HHR are studying or doing homework or something. Rabbit went God knows where," Thia informed them.

"You know," Yusuke began, "I hate it when people speak in a code that I don't get."

"HHR stands for Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And Rabbit is-"

"-Me. Personal secretary?" Kurama questioned as he slid into the seat next to Yusuke.

"I didn't think anyone would be so dense as to believe me!" Thia protested as she watched Kurama duck his head behind a book.

"There's going to be gossip about all of us, you know. Written gossip."

"Oh, let them gossip. What tabloid is there for them to publish all of this stuff in?"

"_Modern-Day Romeo Magazine: Suichi Minamino,_" Yusuke said.

"They've started making magazines already?!" Thia's eyebrows shot up.

"No. It's called sarcasm."

"I didn't think that it could get any worse than the fanclub in my regular school," confessed Kurama. "And I was wrong."

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were spying on Hiei. Or, at least they had been. Now they were looking at thin air, because the demon had disappeared. Whether it was due to an invisibility cloak or to magic of his own, they had no clue. It was creepy, though, because one moment, he'd been standing there, and the other, he was gone, not even leaving a faint after-image.

"See, I told you!" Hermione exclaimed when they'd finally gone back to the castle. "Why would he suddenly disappear into the forest?"

_That,_ at least, Harry had an answer for.

"He's a demon, remember? He probably knew that we were there and he didn't want us to disturb him."

"And what wouldn't he want us to disturb?"

"His solitude. You _were_ pretty loud, you know," Ron said.

"Oh, sure, team up against me, won't you?" Hermione went off in a huff.

"I don't understand her at all," the red-head said, defeated.

"Are you supposed to?"

* * *

Hiei sat in a tree far from the Hogwarts castle, watching those foolish humans search for him. It was rather amusing, actually. They'd followed him into the forest, and he let them. Let them wander around for a while. When they left, then he would be able to finally do what he wanted. The confines of that stupid school were stifling him. Even in the sessions with Genkai, he'd been forbidden to draw his sword.

Good, they were gone. Hiei leapt down silently and unsheathed his beloved katana.

_Damn humans... damn castle... damn Koenma... _With each curse, Hiei gathered speed, swinging his sword cleanly through random branches here and there. _Damn Potter... damn Koenma... damn Tsurin... damn __Pearl__... damn Koenma..._

And finally, the last stroke came with the pronouncement of, _Damn headmaster.___

* * *

"Filthy humans," Ronan spat.

Deep in the forest, the centaur had heard a great crash and cantered in the direction of the resonating sound. And then he'd seen it. One of the oldest, thickest, and tallest trees in the entire forest had fallen, though apparently not from normal circumstances. It had been sliced clean through, a neat and perfect cut that allowed the entire world to see the hundreds and hundreds of rings that spiraled on the freshly cut surface.

"Filthy humans," the centaur repeated, even though deep inside he knew that no ordinary human could do such a thing.

* * *

By later that day, Kurama's calm had begun to shatter. His fan club was _everywhere_, and the other boys weren't helping at all. Apparently, several of them had accepted bribes to snap a few compromising pictures of him.

Was Harry _really_ the one who needed an entire security team on his tail?

That wasn't to say that the other members of the team hadn't managed to pick up a few fans here and there. So, Yusuke's wish had been granted.

Kuwabara (or "The Dedicated Soldier of Love and Humanity", as he had dubbed himself) was simply ignoring his fawning disciples, as he was constantly thinking of his "precious love, Yukina". Yusuke was incessantly retelling stories of himself and his heroic exploits (minus a few details about his girlfriend, his job, his boss, his very talented support team, his death, and a few embarrassing moments here and there) to a group of giggling girls (need he really mention that they were second years?). Hiei... Well, Hiei had, um... intimidated... his fans into staying away from him. And Thia's tactics were a bit different from Hiei's, but just as effective in warding off admirers.

"Thi-" Kurama began. He'd only managed to find her right now, even though he'd been looking for some time.

"Get ears, you freak, and leave," she snapped, and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Vicious," Kurama commented, and caught up to her brisk pace. Seeing who was next to her, Thia stopped dead and a hand flew to her mouth.

"Uh... Sorry! I didn't realize it was you and I was just finished blowing off some blown-up Gryffindor. I didn't mean any of that-"

"It's fine," Kurama laughed.

"So? Where's the flock?"

"I eluded them."

"Ah." Thia caught the look in Kurama's eye. "What is it you're thinking?" she asked, highly suspicious.

"What would you like to do? Today, I mean."

Confusion showed on Thia's face. "I don't know. Poison Snape?"

"He's not _that_ bad."

"Yeah, well, you don't have spelling problems. Have you any idea of the points he'll take off if I spell something wrong if there's essay part on the final?"

"Surely you can remember that something is spelled 's-o-m-e-t-h-'"

"Oh, shut up," Thia muttered. "Who are you and where have you thrown Kurama?" The young man next to her gave her a pointed look. "Oh, right, you wouldn't get thrown anywhere. Why are you in such a- a- funny mood, then?"

"I really don't know." It was completely true. Somehow, he'd been swept away by a feeling of relief and freedom, oddly enough. "But answer my question."

"'Please' would be nice. Seriously, I don't know. I know you have a scheme cooking, so why don't you just say it so that I can tell you how brilliant it is."

"Why don't we just wander around?"

Thia gaped. "Brilliant, yeah right. Uh, hello? What are we doing right now, if not wandering?" It was true, they were just floating about, walking in the more secluded halls of the upper levels of the castle.

"I meant outside," he said, and motioned vaguely at the window that they had just passed. Thia glanced out.

"It's going to rain," she pointed out, looking once more at the gray sky.

"So?"

"You really _are _in a funny mood today. All right then, Minamino. Let's go."

It didn't immediately begin to pour the moment that they walked out of the door, but the sky sure did darken menacingly. They wandered here and there, talking and joking around like the friends that they were. When the rain finally began to fall, they were in a plain grassy area, not far from the Forbidden Forest. Thia was about to suggest going for cover when the rain began to sheet down, pounding them with icy cold water. But it felt surprisingly good, even if they did get drenched.

"Do you want to go back?" Thia had to practically shout over the rain. Kurama smiled and shook his head. "You've gone insane, did you know that?"

* * *

HHR, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had met up in the Gryffindor common room and were currently just sitting around, looking bored.

"Hey, look at those idiots down there," Yusuke said suddenly, watching some girls getting drenched in the rain.

"Urameshi... You do know who those idiots are, don't you?" Kuwabara asked.

"No. Wait. Holy shit! Wait. No, I don't know, Kuwabara. Care to fill me in?"

"Kurama and Thia."

"It really makes you wonder why they were put into Ravenclaw, doesn't it?" Hermione asked, shaking her head.

* * *

Grass, when wet, becomes slippery.

**_Bang!_**

"Ow!" Thia yelped as she rubbed her lower back, where she'd felt a jolt. Above her, Kurama was laughing as he held out his hand to her. Thia rolled her eyes and took it, purposely distributing her weight so that-

**_Bang!_**

"Ow! You let go of me!"

"First of all, you were going to take me down with you. And second, my hands are slippery." This time, he held out both of his hands to her and pulled her upright. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." She peered up at him for a moment. He looked like a wreck, with his red bangs plastered to his forehead and his face pale from the cold water. He was soaked.

"Good." Thia didn't look much better. Her hair, still tied up, was bolt straight, and she was as pale as he. Kurama still held her hands loosely in his, even though he kept telling himself to release her.

"If I catch a cold, can I blame it on you?" she was asking him. Standing so close to him, holding hands... it was like electricity running through Thia, pumping her blood and creating those weird butterflies in her stomach.

"Sure," he replied, smiling again.

"And you're 100% sure you haven't gone mental?"

"Positive," Kurama said, half to himself, and-

* * *

The five Gryffindors were pasted to the window, astonished.

Finally, Yusuke managed a: "Who the hell saw that one coming?"

"Yeah..."

* * *

-kissed her.

Thia's heart stopped beating. Thoughts rushed through her head, none of them comprehensible except for: _What?_

He broke the kiss within moments and backed up two steps, not knowing whether she would hit him or not. But... she was in some sort of daze, watching him with a look of disbelief. Her heart had finally started up again, and was racing at a rate that would probably get a car a speeding ticket. (a.n.: sorry, corny line, I know. can't help myself.)

_Tell her you're sorry... Tell her you're sorry,_ some voice of reason was urging him, but he wanted to see her reaction first.

Slowly, Thia broke through the stupor and walked forward a small step, then took another one, barely matching one of the strides that he had taken. Kurama knew that if she was going to hit him, he wouldn't stop her and that it would somehow hurt him more than a lot of other bruises he had gotten.

She took a third small step, but just as she was about to take another, the earth beneath her suddenly just vanished. Kurama leapt at her, his sense of forewarning having kicked in only seconds before. However, only one of her feet was on level ground and Thia crashed into the mud trench that was unexpectedly beneath her before he could pull her away.

Lying there, in the mud, Thia felt the power that dwelled in this pit just crash down on her, practically crushing her lungs. It was only as she struggled to get up that it relented a little, and she held out her arms to Kurama so that he could help her out. The ditch was shorter than her, but only by an inch or two, and with the walls of it so slippery, there was no way that she could just climb her way out.

"God, that hurt," he heard her say as he hauled a muddy Thia up. "I feel like I twisted my knee. If you planned this, Kurama, I swear I'll kill you." And he heard, in her voice, that she was dead serious. Toying with her emotions was clearly something worth death, in her eyes, and it was something that he wouldn't do.

"How could I? Why would I? We're trapped now." For the first time, Thia looked around and saw that the trench wasn't localized to where she had fallen, but surrounded them on all sides, a circular moat (for it was quickly filling with water) around a triangular patch of land.

**_

* * *

_**

**_Responses:_**

_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan/Hiei=Hot, lobs-stacey-ters, slave2anime, and The Legendary Beckster—Thanks for reviewing!_

_Meghann/xKitsunex—Oh, Voldemort would've probably used Avada Kedavra if he didn't need his Death Eaters to do his dirty work... The 6th book is called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (or something like that). There's a lot of info about it on JK Rowling's site... Thank you for reviewing!_

_Falcon-sama—::squeals:: COOKIES! PLUSHIES! I love you! (In a completely platonic way, that is.) _Bobby: I want the Hiei one!

_starchild--I'm glad you agree with me! Thanks for reviewing!_

__

**__**

Author's Note: I know that I have a tendency to make these notes long and drawn out, whereas other authors clearly hate them. I just like to talk. Today it's short(er), though. So: How'd ya like it? Does everyone understand what happened with the ditch? Well, if you didn't, then too bad, 'cause I'm not gonna explain it. Yet. And the end of this chapter doesn't count as a cliffhanger, does it? (I don't think so, but then again, I'm a bad judge.) And if you find that any of the characters are OOC, then _please _tell me! It's my constant fear that I'll screw up...

::Waves hand around like a Jedi:: You will review... ::waves again:: You will review... So do it already!!! _Bobby: ::in Watto voice:: Who do you think you are, a Jedi? I'm a Toydarian! _::gags Bobby:: Sorry... we're a bit obsessed with Star Wars.


	23. Bargain and Break Through

**_Responses:_**

**_Minakara—_**_Okay, I'm warning you ahead of time. This chapter and the next one both leave you hanging. So you could either read this now and kill me for ending the chapter the way that I did, or you could wait until I update again, kill me for ending both of them the way I did, or you could wait until I update the time after that. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!_

**_Lobs-StAcEy-Ters—_**_Thanks for reviewing and for the spelling lesson! lol._

**_Amari Koorime—_**_Thanks! And yes, Thia and Kurama are one of my pairings._

**_YYH-Yu-Yu-Hakusho-Fan/HieiHot—_**_Repetitiveness is good! Thanks for your input!_

**_Shadow Fox777—_**_Yay! Someone else likes long author notes!!! Thank you!_

**_xKitsunex/Meghann—_**_Thank you!!! I'm tearing up... you drew a picture of Thia? ::is so happy:: Darn. I thought I put up an: _Thia-Kurama scene warning! Could be kissing!_ in nice neon lettering... Okay, JKR's site is just: http:www. jkrowling. com._

**_Rose—_**_Yes! You have your lifetime supply of EverFreez ice cream, (don't tell Hiei, he'll kill me) including the limited edition flavors! I've explained the ditch below._

**_Slave2anime—_**_Sporks! The greatest invention ever! Well, except for paper shredders. Thanks for reviewing!_

****

**_Notes:_**_ Okay, so, here's the deal with the ditch thingamabob: It's a little triangular island surrounded by a hole that's shaped like a circle. Only Thia fell in._

****

DISCLAIMER: rogueicephoenix owns no part of Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. And she is only admitting this because those stupid lawyers won't stop stalking her.

Chapter 23: Bargain and Break Through

_Hogwarts_

Thia and Kurama had jumped from their little island and back to safe ground and were currently studying it. Their talk had been reduced to a minimum and the rain was beginning to slow a little. Even so, the water in the ditch had begun to overflow.

"Can you feel it?" Thia asked suddenly of her companion.

"It's radiating power," he responded, his expression unreadable.

"When I fell in, the pressure of it was crushing. Now it's not quite as much. Do you think that was just because I was in the trench?"

"Yes, probably. But that isn't the question so much as: Why is it here? I highly doubt that this is simply a natural occurrence."

"Agreed," Thia put in softly. Then, a little louder: "Why don't we go back?"

Kurama nodded and they headed back to the castle.

Surprisingly enough, the rest of the team met them as soon as they came through the front doors.

"Hi, guys. We were just coming back to see you. There's a-"

"Yeah, we know. We filled Hiei and Genkai in, too," Yusuke interrupted Thia. "We were watching," he put in, seeing the confused look on her face.

"Then you saw _everything?_" the Ravenclaw asked, and the question in her too-calm voice was evident.

"Yup. _Everything."_ The leer on his face spoke volumes. The rest of the spectators waited to see who would strangle Yusuke first, Kurama or Thia. However, both seemed to be retaining their calm, though Thia's eyes had narrowed.

"Well then. There's a powerful, weird aura all around it, particularly in that moat-thing."

"Spirit energy or demon energy?" Kuwabara asked.

"That would be the strange part. It was both, as though they had been merged," Kurama answered. _And I know that I've seen that symbol somewhere else..._

"Is that all?" questioned Genkai, to which Kurama and Thia both nodded. "We'll have to check it out tomorrow, just in case."

"All right then. If you'll excuse me, I have to change." With that, Thia walked off.

"I will do the same," Kurama said, and followed. Genkai left without a word.

"What d'you think is going on between them?" Yusuke asked once they were out of earshot.

Hermione and Kuwabara both sighed in exasperation.

"You don't understand love at all," they said in unison, startling not only the others, but also themselves.

"Jinx! You owe me ten sodas!" Kuwabara yelled.

Sweat-drops for everyone.

"_That_ was love?" Ron asked skeptically once everyone had recovered. "Didn't look like it."

"It was 'like'. You probably thought that she was going to slap him," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"She wasn't?"

"Get a sense of romance, will you, Ron?"

The said boy flushed.

"I'll have you know that I know a lot about love and... mushy stuff!"

"If you say so, Ron."

"I do!" The spectators watched them the way that someone would watch a tennis match; Ron and Hermione were the players and their responses to one another was the ball. Harry opened his mouth to interject something, but received glares from both. Apparently they hadn't forgotten the last time he'd interrupted one of their spats.

* * *

Thia didn't know what to feel. Or think, for that matter. Or say. Or act. Jeez, she might as well just give up doing anything whatsoever, because in general, it was all too confusing.

Was she supposed to get angry at Kurama? Tell him that the mistletoe was a completely different thing and that the incident in the rain had been completely uncalled for? Because if it was, then she was screwed. It would take more guts to say that than to fight off a horde of bloodthirsty, rampaging demons.

Then what? Act like one of those crazy girls at her last school, grabbing him by the shirt collar and planting one smack on his lips? Now there was an idea that was too much for her to handle. It would probably scare him off, too. She could imagine his, 'Uh, I think I'll go, uh, that way,' right before he sped off in the other direction.

So she took her final option: Pretend.

_Pretend it never happened. Pretend he never kissed you. Pretend-_

"Dry up already, Sherwood. You're making a puddle on the carpet," someone in the dormitory told her.

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

* * *

"They're stalking me, you know." Kurama glanced at Hiei. The two were having one of their guy-demon-to-guy-demon chats down in the dungeons, where Kurama had found Hiei wandering.

"They're stalking me as well."

"Not that fan club." The fox's only indication of his surprise was the inclination of his eyebrows, and he waited for his friend to elaborate. "Those stupid humans. The idiots that the old hag feels the need to train. They followed me into the forest."

"What? Why on Earth would they do that?" Kurama asked aloud. It dawned on him. "Unless... they believe that there's some sort of spy in Hogwarts that somehow helped to let the attackers onto the school grounds."

"Hn. The fools."

Kurama caught the look in Hiei's crimson eyes.

"Just don't kill them," the red-head warned, "no matter how much they annoy you."

"What gave you that idea?"

* * *

_Death Eater Safehouse_

"I will bargain with you, Pearl of Three. If you transport me to the third Sacred Site of mud and water, I swear that you will have your fill of human souls," Tsurin said as he stood in the middle of the ash triangle, and spoke to the Pearl.

_"And if you fail, Master Tsurin?" _The Pearl asked. Its voice was a sort of whisper, harsh and yet gentle, with an odd sort of mystery to it.

"I will not fail. How dare you-!"

_"So many before you have said that, master. Their souls are mine now."_

The Dark Lord Tsurin only clenched his fist over the Pearl of Three Worlds and began his chant.

* * *

_Hogwarts_

"Okee- time to check out the hell hole!"

"Urameshi, why the hell are you being so cheerful? It's, like, six in the morning," Kuwabara grumbled.

"Because it's pissing you off Kuwabara! You should know that."

"Yusuke only lives to be a pain in the ass. I would know," Genkai pointed out. "Now stop whining, all of you."

Slowly, nine people trudged to the triangle-in-a-circle, silent but extremely curious. What was it? Why was it there? Who created it? Why was the energy fused? There were so many questions!

As they got closer and closer, a wind seemed to swirl around them, caressing at first, with the scent of power only laced in, and felt only by those most sensitive in the group. Yet the closer that they got, the stronger the wind, and even the ones with very little spirit awareness (e.g.: Ron) felt it.

"It wasn't like this yesterday," Thia pointed out. "Except for in that ditch."

"Then-"

"The Pearl! Of course! I knew-" Kurama burst out, eyes widening as he finally remembered.

"What's he talking about?" Ron asked, alarmed. "What about the Pearl?!"

"This is a Sacred Site! A portal, if you will, between the Three Worlds. This must be the one that they tell of in legends connected to the Pearl, that only appears under the rarest of circumstances."

"What Pearl are you talking about?" Genkai asked, apparently confused and partially alarmed.

"Not the time to play innocent, Grandma. ('Cause we all know you're not.) The one that you were trying to find out about at Knock-somethingorother Alley. That thing that Botan was all, _'It's been sold,' _over."

"Knockturn, dimwit. But you've got it all wrong. I don't know what the hell this Pearl is."

There was a shocked silence. Or there would have been, if the wind hadn't been whistling like there was no tomorrow.

Then it was like a dam had burst. The strength of it was so much that all nine of them slid back at least an inch or two (or a foot, in Harry's case).

"Someone's trying to come through!" Kurama yelled over the wind.

* * *

_Tsurin_

Traveling from one world to another was extremely tiring and dizzying. However, going from one Site to another in the same world... Now that was one rejuvenating experience. Imagine his surprise when he hadn't needed Voldemort to unlock the Site's protective barrier, the one that Dumbledore must have surely put up, a difficult task to say the least. Imagine his surprise when they realized Dumbledore hadn't put a barrier on it in the first place. Imagine his surprise when all of the natural conditions of opening that particular Site had been met.

Dumbledore really outdid himself. This was practically a welcoming party. Was the man stupid?

Perhaps... Perhaps not.

* * *

_Hogwarts_

At the center of the island, an image flickered.

And a hideous image it was.

"What the hell is that?!"

"JUST SHUT UP, YUSUKE!"

The image, gradually, became solid. And it began to move, with heavy, lumbering steps, towards them. It jumped- and the landing felt like an earthquake.

And then it began to laugh that manaiacal evil laugh that villains have. And like all evil laughs, it went on for way longer than it should have. It really made one wonder: Do villains learn that laugh at school?

"GOD! Would you just SHUT UP!?" Yusuke yelled finally.

"Stupid human. You will be the first that I sacrifice to the Pearl!"

"You and what army?!"

"This one." The _thing _put a hand into the muddy water behind him and poured a minimal amount of energy into it. Slowly hundreds of bubbles rose to the surface and formed shapes. They stood up. And they gathered behind the _thing_ so that their brethren had more room to breed.

"Children of the Mud! Now bow to the All-Powerful Lord Tsurin, you foolish humans!"

Cue the evil laugh.

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay. I know you want to kill me. Cliffhanger (sort-of). But see, the problem with killing me is the fact that you need me to complete the next chapter. So, see, we have a symbiotic and interdependent relationship. I create the chapters so that y'all don't go through withdrawal. In return, you feed me reviews. And then I'm able to churn out another chapter. And the cycle goes on. So if you abandon me now and don't review, then you won't get that chapter.

I'm gibbering, aren't I?

And just so you know, I fully intended to post this chapter yesterday, but I had to go to my HS orientation and I came home completely exhausted. Happy but exhausted.

Anyway, review! _Bobby: Not so fast, r.i.p. Thia wants a word with you. _Thia: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! ARE YOU NUTS?! DIE, r.i.p., DIE! You put Kurama and I back to square ONE! ::r.i.p. flees:: _Finally! Now that the brat's gone, Thia and I will be writing the next chapter. Because r.i.p. has a bad habit of creating a __LOT__ of plot twists.___


	24. Pearls, Peridots, and Undead Souls

**_Responses (Am I stalling, just to keep you in suspense- YES! And I luvit.):_**

**_slave2anime—_**_Ah, yes, the store that both Tsurin and I go to for evil demonic minions was sold out- apparently That Other Villain cleaned out the entire store and we were left with either Mud Children or Diaper Babies. The Diaper Babies seemed more functional at the time, but now my Secret Lair smells horrible. But read on and see what Tsurin managed to scrape up the money for._

**_Minakara—_**_Was I fast enough?! And even if I wasn't at least it's here, no?_

**_fleetgoddess14—_**_Ding-ding-ding! You are correct! This is the last battle! Hmm, maybe that should be capitalized... This is The Last __Battle__! Much more intimidating._

**_Karuto-chan—_**_I'm sorry if I didn't make this chapter long enough!_

**_Cattibrie393, Shadow Fox777, Erein—_**_Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

**_Falcon-sama—_**_COOKIES! HEDWIG!!! _Harry: Hey, give her back! _NO!!! ::enters into a Hedwig tug-of-war with Harry:: FLUFFY!!! ::lets go of Hedwig to cuddle the drooling, vicious Fluffy:: _Thia and Bobby: BROWNIES!!!!!!Let go of them, Thia! Make me, you stupid punk tomboy! I'm a choco-holic! DON'T TOUCH THE BROWNIES! MINE! _::r.i.p. and Thia sweat-drop::_

**_Meghann—_**_Botan finally paid her debt for the oar! Thank you so much!_

**_Rose—_**_Whoa! Long review!! YAY! BTW, how'd ya like the EverFreez Burping __Berry__ Ice Cream?? lol. ::evil laughter:: Where was Genkai, you say? ::more evil laughter:: That will be revealed within time... Yusuke is crazy, isn't he?... Blackguard's __Evil__Villain__Academy__? Hmm, I think I'm going to send in an application. Thank you!!!_

* * *

DISCLAIMER: We don't own YYH or HP. We also don't own the song _She's the Blade, _from whence the lyrics come. Respective owners: Rowling, Togashi, and Sugarcult.

_Last Time: (And yes, I'm stalling again.)_

_"This one." The thing put a hand into the muddy water behind him and poured a minimal amount of energy into it. Slowly hundreds of bubbles rose to the surface and formed shapes. They stood up. And they gathered behind the thing so that their brethren had more room to breed._

_"Children of the Mud! Now bow to the All-Powerful Lord Tsurin, you foolish humans!"_

_Cue the evil laugh._

* * *

Chapter 24: Pearls, Peridots, and Undead Souls

"Dammit, Urameshi, why do you always have to ask those stupid questions?!"

Everyone ignored Kuwabara. Especially Hiei.

"There's a problem with your plan. Some of us aren't quite human."

The evil lord's eyes followed the sound of the voice and saw the small fire demon and the rest of the team for the first time. Astonishment was hidden in the very depths of his eyes, and Hiei knew it.

"So it's you. Hiei and Kurama. Traitors to your own race," he snarled, a very ugly look crossing his face. "I'll have great fun destroying you."

"Wrong thing to say, fool!" Hiei rushed right in, katana already drawn. Naturally, the Mud Children shielded their master, and the demon slid his sword right through them, sending the shattered remains flying in every direction.

(a.n.: After all, dried mud cracks, no?)

The battle had begun.

"Potter, Granger, and Weasley, castle. Tell Dumbledore. And don't you dare come out here again, got it?" Genkai demanded, but was too busy engaging herself in the fight to see their responses.

Responses that didn't guarantee they would stay away.

Still, the three of them scampered up to Hogwarts, skidding through doors, up stairs, through corridors, and right up to the gargoyle who guarded Dumbledore's office.

The problem: What was the password?

Meanwhile, down on the battlefield, things didn't seem to be going in Lord Tsurin's favor. Yusuke was able to punch his way almost to Tsurin, but the Mud Children just seemed to keep coming. Genkai was like a wild woman, just blowing the brown beings away like it was nothing. And Hiei was like an invisible warrior, leaving shattered pieces in his wake. Kuwabara was actually counting his kills: "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..." Kurama's whip slashed through many of the ones that were forming in the moat as he tried to prevent them from outnumbering them too badly. Thia was humming as her spheres swept through the Mud Children, almost as though all she was doing was reheating take-out food.

_'Don't you make a move tonight/ You can only stagger/ Once she's got you in her sights/ You're the one she's after...'_

* * *

Ron, Harry, and Hermione skidded through the castle, not leaving any room unchecked as they searched for Professor Minerva McGonagall. Or Snape. He'd work, too, they figured, (as Harry remembered his painful mistake last year) but maybe 6:30 in the morning wasn't a good time to disturb him...

"Professor McGonagall!" Finally they'd found her, walking the halls.

"Outside- Tsurin! Genkai and the others are down there but we need to tell Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione burst out.

"The headmaster is in London, at a conference with the Minister of Magic," the Gryffindor Head of House replied, her lips thinning.

"Then-"

"No, Miss Granger. Professor Genkai and her team are well-equipped to handle these situations, so you will stay put, do you hear me? All of you!"

* * *

The battlefield was littered with pieces of broken mud. Tsurin was _losing,_ and yet he was- was- was-

_Smiling_!!!

Was he insane, was he completely insusceptible to the feeling of failure, or did he have a plan? Kurama had the sinking suspicion that it was the third option, and that plan wasn't going to be good. The suspicion grew stronger when the demon lord's smile grew larger at the sight of Harry, Hermione, and Ron rushing toward them.

"DIMWITS!" Genkai yelled when she saw them.

Yusuke was startled. "WHAT?!"

"WRONG DIMWIT, YOU MORON!" Kurama could've sworn she'd ended her statement with, "For once."

Finally, though, the Mud Children had seemed to run out, and the fighting slowed to a trickle, leaving very little for Hermione, Harry, and Ron to do. If Tsurin didn't stop smiling, however, he'd crack his own face (and a couple thousand mirrors). Now the huge lord pulled out a chain from one of his pockets. It was a chain that Kurama remembered, delicate and made of fine gold. There it was, the Pearl of the Three, creamy white and easily hidden. But... There was an addition to the chain, one that Kurama, as either Yoko or as Suichi, had never seen before.

It was rather large stone the size of a Ping-Pong ball, and was the color of leaves just as they turned color for the fall. The light green mixed with yellow and a hint of brown, creating a rather dazzling effect as it hit the sun. And as the sun was rising steadily, the effect was nearly blinding.

"What the-"

"This is my other jewel. Radiant, isn't it? They call it the Peridot of Peril."

Thia's eyes shot wide open. _That name. That name. That name- I know it. I've read it! When- when we were doing research! So- what was it I read?!_

"I read it, I read it, I read it," she muttered aloud, mentally beating herself up for not paying any attention at all.

"What? What did you read?" Kurama asked.

"Oh! Something about scratches and silk gloves... Why didn't I pay attention?!"

"Unimpressive, human. Watch as my prize summons undead souls to fight for me- seeing as you've wiped out all of my Children, I do think I need a few." The same wicked smile stretched across his face as he held the Peridot up to the sun's rays.

"Stupid, you're unprotected," Yusuke muttered right before letting loose a Spirit Gun.

"Don't speak of what you don't know, human," Tsurin snarled. They soon saw what he meant when a shield, the exact color of the jewel itself, rose around Tsurin and seemingly swallowed the attack whole.

"Grr... Dammit."

Before they knew what was happening, spectrums of light flared all over, half- blinding and yet so beautiful it was impossible not to look.

But what is beautiful is not always safe, or even "good". Fire, for instance, is dangerous in so many ways, and yet entrances one if they look into the depths of a flame. (a.n.: Or maybe that's just me.)

Now, for instance, the light shifted, and revealed some of the most haunting images that they had ever seen. They were undead warriors, lost spirits whose lives were taken during battle. And these beings were heading straight to them, blackened weapons raised.

"Now fetch me the boy," Tsurin commanded them, and his army raced towards the smaller group.

* * *

Voldemort waited for his update to come.

**_FFFFWEEEEET!_**

And there it was. Wormtail handed him the plate, and the Dark Lord peered into it to see his spy.

"My lord, the demon has engaged the undead and has called for the boy."

"Excellent," he purred, and tossed the metal object back to Wormtail. "All is going according to plan."

"Same plan, dumber lookin'-" Yusuke threw his fist at one of the new warriors, felt an ice cold sensation sweep through his body, and saw that he'd gone right through the specter. "What the-" At that moment, the shield that this particular fiend wore come crashing down on the Detective's head.

_We can see them, they can hit us, we go right through them. Dammit, I want an army like this once we defeat this jerk._

But how could they defeat an army they couldn't touch?

* * *

Author's Notes: _::Bobby comes back from lunch break, sees r.i.p. at keyboard:: r.i.p!! What the hell did you do?! ::reads chapter:: You erased my original chapter!! Are you _trying _to kill them off!? You're fired!!! _You can't fire me! _YOU SCREWED THEM! Okay, that didn't sound right. THEY'RE SCREWED BECAUSE OF YOU! _So?! _Thia, tell her! _I'm going to die because of you, r.i.p.! ::sniff:: And I wanted to kiss Kurama again… ::sniff:: _See, you made Thia cry! _No, actually, I just have a cold from standing out in the rain. Don't worry, Thia, you're not going to die! _Huh, that's what you said about the Beautiful One in Crimson. And lookit how that turned out! Almost the entire thing was about his friggin murder! If you make Thia die, I'm firing you! And then I'm killing you! _And be convicted of ego-slaughter? _Your point, r.i.p.? _I will try not to kill anyone off. It's very hard, you know. _Kill Tsurin off, bozo! _Nah, I think I'll just send him back to Volders. He can kill Tsurin off. _Urg. Just give me the laptop. Idiot._

_Just so you know, I started school yesterday and yet I was more freaked out today than yesterday. You thought Shinobu Sensui was psychotic? Hah! You haven't seen Tatiana Michelena (a.k.a. Bobby, r.i.p., etc..) on the NY subway. I go completely nuts, start talking to myself, and freaking out in general. And yet, when I finally got to school, I was completely calm, even if I was in a totally new place. I will warn you, though: Stuyvesant students aren't known for having an unbelievable amount of free time. In fact, I'm not even supposed to be posting this up, because I still have a little bit of Global and Bio homework left. Okay, so I have a lot left._

_Alright, this chapter was short because I stepped in before the brat could do any more damage than she's already done. But anyway, the fic's coming to a close very soon and I know you're all terribly sad, but I'm almost finished with the Deleted Scenes. I'll just tag 'em on at the end. So: Is there anything in particular that you wanna see, that I disappointed you with terribly for not putting it in when you were expecting me to? Send it in with your review. (Cause I know that's what you're doing right now. Reviewing.)_


	25. The Final Battle: Ended

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. ::sob:: Take pity on me!

Chapter 25: The Final Battle: Ended

The tables were turned and the Spirit Detective and his rag-tag team were the ones who were grasping for a solution to their new problem. They were unable to so much as touch Lord Tsurin's new army, though the weapons that the army possessed were fully capable of wounding them.

Yusuke sent a Spirit Gun zooming through the attackers, which created the rather odd effect of making a whirling _thing_ in the middle of the warriors' stomachs. Which, technically, was about as good an effect as nothing at all. They didn't even slow their pace.

"Harry!" came Hermione's shriek as one of the ghost-like beings reached out and grasped the young wizard with an iron grip. Heads snapped around and several of the warriors took this opportunity to swipe at their opponents with daggers.

"Damn!"

Meanwhile, try as he might, Harry couldn't break free of his captor. Kicking did no good, as his foot only sank into the icy cold that was the ghost-being's body. Too late, he saw that they were moving, quite quickly, to the demon known as Tsurin.

Who was actually laughing hysterically, slapping his massive knees and stomping his gigantic feet. The ground shook menacingly, and the deep tones of the laughter resonated in everyone's ribs. Desperately, Harry wondered what the heck this evil being would do to him- kill him? Offer him to Voldemort? Ah well, the world was doomed, either way, wasn't it? Or perhaps not.

Suddenly, the wizard was face-to-face with only the ugliest demon on the face of the earth. Didn't they have plastic surgeons down in Demon World?

"So. This is the foolish little brat," Tsurin boomed.

Or breath mints, for that matter?

"Voldemort worried over nothing. Nothing at all. I could snap your little neck in an instant, stupid human boy. You were an idiot to even think you would withstand the greatness that is Tsurin," he snarled, and took Harry from the ghost-like warrior by the collar of the boy's shirt.

"Someone help Harry!" Ron was saying in the background.

"Shut up! Do you think we're having a tea party over here or something?! There's no way to beat these damn things!" Yusuke yelled back.

"But you can do something, little brat," Tsurin said, his breath blowing in Harry's face and bringing his attention back to the evil lord.

"Er- does that mean you'll spare me?" Harry was fishing for time. _Just bring me in a little closer, just a little bit closer!_

"Yes- for a time, you nuisance of a human. You can destroy Voldemort. If you do so, then I will spare you." Tsurin brought Harry a fraction of an inch closer. "But if you refuse this, you will die a hundred deaths."

"Uh-huh. Will you, er, spare my friends?" _Closer..._

"No. Those foolish humans dared to oppose me! They will DIE!!!"

"How about the demons?"

Tsurin brought Harry so close that the boy could see the pores in his monstrous nose.

"Are you playing games, stupid human?!" Tsurin pulled Harry closer, his huge face looming. "Did you not hear me the first time? I will kill those traitors to the demon race with my bare hands!!"

"Playing games?" Harry gave a tug and the chain broke. "Never quite occurred to me."

Something in the background caught Tsurin's eye. Why had his army stopped? What- They were- were disappearing! Tsurin's grasp on the stupid human boy slackened for a moment, and by the time he realized his mistake, Harry had slipped out of the demon's reach. In his hand was the chain holding the Pearl and the Peridot.

"No- No!"

"'Stupid human. You will be the first that I sacrifice to the Pearl!'" Yusuke mimicked in a high-pitched tone of voice that didn't resemble Tsurin's actual voice in the slightest. "Well eat this, 'All-Powerful Lord Tsurin'!"

The Spirit Gun blast that Yusuke produced completely decimated Tsurin.

The Pearl in Harry's hands began to glow suddenly and he nearly dropped it when it spoke, scaring the living daylights out of just about everyone in the vicinity.

_"Fear not. I only wish to claim what is rightfully mine: Master Tsurin's soul."_

"Whoa. The Pearl just talked!"

"Obviously, Kuwabara." Hermione, however, sounded rather dazed.

Through the air came a floating _thing,_ almost like a wisp of cloud, and yet so different. As it was sucked into the Pearl, the light seemed to dim, and once the Pearl stopped glowing completely, Harry put the chain into Genkai's outstretched hand. If he or any of the rest of them never saw the accursed things again, then so much the better.

"Don't you hate villains like that? The ones who have about a thousand tricks up their sleeves and catch you off guard, but are really wimpy in the end?" Yusuke asked, yawning. It was, after all, about 7:00.

"Not really," Thia answered, touching a spot on the back of her head where a dagger had scraped her. "It's actually quite brilliant. Make up in brains what you lack in brawn. It's the fact that they're all talk and nothing else that's a real pain. Oh, damn!" she swore when the tips of her fingers came away with blood. "How many times do I have to go to the hospital wing in a year?!"

* * *

**_FFFFWEEEEET!_**

Wormtail silently handed the plate to his master.

"Yes?"

"The demon is dead, sir."

"Fine." And it was. Because that fool had been planning to betray him from the start. So, Voldemort would've had to dispose of Tsurin anyway.

The Lord Voldemort sent the Communication Plate into the wall across the length of the room, just to scare Wormtail. And it worked.

* * *

They were back in the castle. For once, there wasn't a whole lot of blood and no one was knocked out. What a relief for Madam Pomfrey. There was, however, a chunk of Thia's hair missing where the dagger had nicked her, and she was agonizing over the fact that it was going to have to be cut.

McGonagall and Genkai were speaking in hushed tones in the corner, supposedly discussing the incidents that had just occurred, but in all reality, they were talking about the stubbornness of adolescents. In particular, adolescents that they taught.

Dumbledore swept into the hospital wing with an air of 'What did I miss?'

Before they could launch into the story, however, Professors McGonagall and Genkai took him aside.

"I see. Now would one of you explain to us adults what these artifacts are?" the headmaster asked after the basic story had been told to him.

With that permission, they (meaning, of course, Harry, with interjections from the rest of the group) launched into a story of how they had done research to try and figure out Botan's cryptic message and the just as cryptic clues, all the way to the final battle.

"So you assumed that Professor Genkai and her team were trying to intercept this?" Dumbledore held up the Pearl.

"Yessir."

Genkai shook her head. "We never knew about the Pearl or the Peridot. What we were doing was selling an artifact to an important storeowner in Knockturn Alley. In return, we wanted his alliance and whatever information he could find out. We believed that this attack was simply another of the ones that Voldemort sanctioned."

And so the pieces of the puzzle flew together.

* * *

In the Great Hall, five Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw watched Thia pace angrily, her newly shorn hair swishing around her face. Hiei, who was sitting at the very end of the table, was not watching, was bored stiff, and was making 'hn'-ing sounds every so often.

"Urgh! If _you_ had stayed put and not run into battle like the idiots that you are, then _he_ might not have been captured and then _she _wouldn't have screamed and- _URG!"_ was the agitated pronouncement.

"Hey, calm down," Kuwabara said disapprovingly, trying to act like a sort of mediator.

"I will NOT calm down, Kuwabara!"

"He's right. What are you worried about? Hair grows back," Harry said distractedly.

"Wrong thing to say, buddy!" Thia yelled, and was about to pounce on The Boy Who Lived and beat him into a bloody pulp when Kurama stood up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You look fine."

It was hard for her not to smile when she felt so unreasonably giddy, but Thia put up a good effort, crossing her arms and sighing exasperatedly.

Yusuke got a very sly look in his eyes.

"Hey, why do you listen to _Suichi_ and not to us?"

Both teens flushed slightly, clearly thinking the thought, _'I will kill Yusuke. I will. And I will enjoy it.'_ Hermione saved the day.

"Because _he_ actually said something nice." Thia looked like she was about to fall on her knees and worship the Gryffindor. "You boys, you're always saying something stupid and insensitive."

**_"HEY!"_** was the unanimous reply from the Gryffindor boys.

"Well, you do."

"NOT! WE DO NOT!"

"There you go, Ron. That was something stupid."

"Well- well-"

"Face it, man, you can't win with her," Kuwabara said darkly, giving Hermione a look to match, dark, accusing, and disapproving. "It's just like Urameshi can't win with Kayko."

"'N you know what's not fair? How Thia and Suichi _both_ win. Always. That's just bloody wrong."

"See! Insensitive creep! I'm standing right here!" Thia went off, face burning.

"Girls! What the heck is wrong with your kind?" Ron asked Hermione.

"'My kind'? Ron, you're such an idiot."

* * *

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me, Yusuke," Botan said as she leaned against her oar.

"WHAT?!"

Meaning: 'We just saved the day AGAIN and we STILL have to take FINALS?!'

"Yup. Koenma specifically said that you had to stay until the school year ends. After all, if you leave now and Voldemort attacks all of a sudden and kills Harry, then your mission still fails."

"WHAT?!"

"Shut your mouth, Yusuke, you're catching spiders," Hiei snarled.

"I HATE YOU, KOENM-"

"Shut up! You still have to take finals, no matter how much you curse Koenma." And then, in an undertone, "I would know."

Finals. How anticlimactic.

* * *

**_Responses:_**

_**Rose, lobsstaceyters, slave2anime, Minakra, Shadow Fox777, Icy Tears, Dark Comet--**Thanks to all of ya!! _

_**Long Live Asato Kido-- **SIRIUS!!! PIG!!!.......::GASP!:: a YYH/HP fic in my honor?!?! ::faints:: _::Bobby gapes:: Thia: WOOHOO! THANK YOU!!!!

_**Mana-Chan Saiyan--** Thanks a million times for pointing that out! o.O Wait, you're stalking me?? COOL!!! _::Thia and Bobby sweat-drop::

_**Meghann--** Ding-ding-ding!!! You got it! Yet another reference to LOTR. (I'd make a fanfiction, but I'm not quite sure what it'd be about...) And see, Thia didn't die! It's cause I remembered how much I hated JKR when she killed Sirius off..._

_**Arano Honou-- **CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!_

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay, so I have a few announcements to make. 

**(1) **I am quitting fanfiction . net. No, I'm just kidding. KIDDING, PEOPLE!!!! So don't sic your very fierce Chihuahua on me or mutilate various parts of my anatomy. Do something tasteful, like sending a handsome assassin to kill me. The real #1 is: **(1)** I am writing a sequel. Unfortunately, my laptop won't work right (I'm using a relative's) and I didn't get a chance to save the three chapters that I had written of the sequel. Aheh. But anyway, the summary's in my bio under 'We're Doing It Again?!' or something like that. To tell you the truth, I hate that title. Any suggestions?

**(2) **Okay, yes, this story is coming to a close, but I have to completely rewrite chapter 26, the FINAL CHAPTER of the real fanfiction. And then I'm putting up the Deleted Scenes. A gag reel is first. And I think I've already told y'all this already, I'm just being redundant. Again.

**(3) **My sense of timing with this entire fanfiction (and the sequel) is screwed. I know it's supposed to be skewed, but I like that word better. Which reminds me: Has the newest YYH DVD come out yet? (the one after In the Blood, I mean…)

**(4) **Aheh. Please don't hate me. I don't want to get up your hopes that the ending of this will be, erm, movie-ending-style. So, just a warning. It's nothing bad, of course, it's just not... what some people might want.

**(5) REVIEW! **I just wanted to say that. And please review for any of my other fanfictions. 'Cause, you know. I'm a review hog.


	26. Epilogue: Faint Partings

DISCLAIMER: rogueicephoenix is merely a poor author of fan- and original- fiction. She is not starving, though, 'cause her mom gives her money for lunch. But don't sue her, because she doesn't own YYH and/or HP.

* * *

Epilogue: Faint Partings

Thia watched cars crawl past the window as the taxi took her home. Such traffic in New York. It was almost unbearable. However, it gave her some time to think, to remember, and to sort out her brain.

* * *

_After getting finals results:_

"_Whew! So, who passed Potions?" Ron asked cheerfully._

"_Me," came the chorus of obviously disappointed voices. Hiei 'hn'-ed._

"_Ron, you only passed by... a point."_

"_And proud!"_

_Kurama smiled, just like the rest of them, and glanced at Hiei's grade card. And then he did a double-take._

"_Hiei, you got perfect marks in everything."_

"_Hn. I'm not stupid, you know," was the fire demon's retort as he stuffed the parchment into a pocket. "I got bored so I did the stupid test."_

_Everyone blinked. And then Yusuke burst out into near-hysterical laughter._

"_Wooh! So, where'd you stash the answer sheet?"_

"_Say that again, Detective, I seem to be going deaf."_

"_Oh, come on, you must've taken the answer sh-"_

"_Are you insinuating that I actually _have_ to cheat?!" Hiei's voice took on a dangerous edge._

"_Well, I mean, come on, H-"_

_Not a moment later, Thia was pushing Yusuke out the door of the Great Hall and away from the fire demon struggling in Kurama's grasp, his sword drawn._

* * *

Thia laughed silently.

* * *

_The Parting at Kings' Cross Station:_

"_Damn! These things are so heavy!" Kuwabara grunted as he hauled his trunk off the train and onto the concrete of the station._

"_You always come back with more stuff than you first set out with. That's all I can say." Thia kicked at her trunk._

"_So, anyway, are you coming back next term?" Harry asked, glancing around the station for the Dursleys._

"_Don't think so. Hope not. No offense," Yusuke added belatedly._

"_Oh. Well, have a nice summer. It was nice meeting you all! See you next term!" Harry called to the Spirit World team, Ron, and Hermione._

_Ron and Hermione soon left, repeating Harry's farewells and waving._

"_It's time to go home," Kurama stated, and smiled at his friends._

"_And thank God! Caffeine, dammit, caffeine!"_

* * *

Man, she got stupid sometimes. But it was an effect of parting, Thia guessed. She _had_ made friends with them, and who wouldn't? (a.n.: Adapt or die!!)

But that was only the first of the partings.

* * *

_The Parting at JFK Airport:_

"_Oh, thank GOD. We're finally getting rid of the little maggot!" Yusuke joked, tugging at a lock of Thia's not-quite-shoulder-length hair._

"_Maggot yourself. Do that again and you'll die a double-death."_

"_Suuuure. Oh, look Kuwabara!"_

"_FOOD!!" the boys exclaimed in unison, shoving each other out of the way for a chance to get on line first. Both gave her a sort of vague wave._

"_HIEI! **ICE CREAM!!!**" Yusuke hollered at the top of his lungs. The fire demon's eyes lit up slightly, before becoming as impassive as ever. He gave Thia a miniscule nod before wandering off._

"_People are staring," Kurama observed as he looked around._

"_Yeah. They're so weird. Not the people, I mean. The others." Thia and Kurama both smiled slightly._

"_I have the distinct feeling I'll be seeing you again," was Kurama's rather abrupt statement as his grin widened._

"_Oh, I know. Someday. Ah, whatever."_

_Not whatever._

_Thia threw her arms around Kurama's neck and hugged him soundly._

_And guess what? He hugged her back._

* * *

Thia touched the tiny piece of paper in her jeans pocket once again. Sneaky fox. He'd written his e-mail address and phone number on it in his neat handwriting, and slipped it into her pocket.

Maybe she'd e-mail him tonight.

* * *

"Finally. God, I thought we'd never make it," Yusuke yawned, his sickly pale face showing the strains of jet lag, plane travel, and general wear 'n' tear.

Going to England sucked. Why? Because of the return trip.

"Hn." Hiei looked a little... traumatized. Like, 'I didn't think Human World had such harsh torture...' He even seemed a little too tired to come up with one of his characterstic sarcastic responses.

An entire Welcome Home! party greeted them in the waiting area. It was such a weird group! Shiori, Atsuko, Shizuru, Kayko, Genkai (hey, when'd _she_ get back?!), Botan, and heck, even Kaitou, Yana, and Kido were there. Shiori didn't seem to _quite _know what the heck these other people were doing there, much less who they actually were, but Kurama was pleased to see that she was just goin' with the flow.

A cheer went up when they got there.

"Cool! So, like, didja get us any homecoming gifts and stuff? Or, like, cake?" Kuwabara asked, searching the faces of the welcoming committee.

"Get real, bro," Shizuru pronounced, rolling her eyes.

"HOME, SWEET HOME!" Yusuke erupted abruptly, punching at the air.

"Yusuke, school begins soon," Kayko reminded him. (1)

The Spirit Detective blinked. Twice. Three times.

And then he fainted.

_end _

_**

* * *

**_

_**Responses:**_

_**Rose—**Uh, 'kay, I know, this wasn't exactly the train or the gateway thingamabob, but it was _sorta_ close, right? I mean, it was the airport... Uh-heh? But thanks for reviewing!!! Oh, and for the title suggestion!_

_**Shadow Fox777—**Thanks! I hope you liked this tiny add-on ending chapter!_

_**DarkWarLord1992—**::scratches head in embarrassment:: As you can see, that chapter... kinda... wasn't the last chapter. ::gasps:: Not- Not a Thousand Pokes From A Hokey Pokey Stick of Pain! Anything but that!!!_

_**dizappearingirl—**Thanks! I'm not completely sure whether the Deleted Scenes are corny or funny, but... That's for you to decide._

_**RikoRishodeathangeloflight—**Thanks for the ton of reviews!!!_

_**slave2anime—**lol, thanks for the title suggestions! They were really good! _

_**poltergeist report 101—**Hee! Thanks for reviewing, and I hope I didn't kill you!_

_**xKitsunex—**lol! Don't worry, it was meant to be funny! I'd LOVE to make this a never-ending story, but I'm worried about how my mother will take it. _Bobby: ::mimicks mother:: WHADDA YA MEAN, A NEVER-ENDING STORY?! **OFF OF THE INTERNET! HOMEWORK, _NOW! _**_::r.i.p. applauds.:: That's exactly how my mom would take it. ::sweat-drops:: Oh, and you never did include the link thingamabob to the picture of Thia... Thank you!!!_

_**Long Live Asato Kido/Falcon-sama—**I GOT HOGWARTS! WOOHOO! Children shall suffer under my harsh DADA teachings!!! AND I HAVE DRACO AND HIEI?! Hey, Hiei, go, boy, go! _**Hiei: Do you take me for a dog?! Don't boss me around, human scum!** Bobby: But Hiei, we're letting you maim and torture Malfoy! **::Hiei blinks:: ...Where to?** Thia: Did we neglect to mention how much we love (platonically!) and adore you? **::Hiei stops chasing Malfoy and blinks:: **Not you, Hiei, we just _want_ you. L L A.K. and Falcon-sama. That's who we mean. Thanks!!!

Author's Notes: (1) I'm assuming that the Japanese schedule for school is the same as the one in the Philippines. Meaning: School begins in June and ends in March.

Ahah! I'm FINISHED WITH THE DAMN THING! I'm going to post the Deleted Scenes in groups of twos (I think). So: Get ready, world!

And one thing: Would someone explain what's involved in a C2 thingamabob? I know, it's like a Favorite Stories list on steroids and blah blah blah, but what's involved? 'Cause it'd be cool to have a YYH-HP C2 thingamabob. Or has someone else already done that?

_Bobby: Man, my alter-ego's got mental problems._

Oh, and REVIEW! All you people who read this and followed this studiously but never reviewed: Review! Or I _will know._ And I will track you down. And beat you to a bloody pulp. Well, no I won't. Bobby'll do it. She's like my much, much milder version of Kazuya.

_Bobby: HEY!_

Thia: ::quickly changing subject:: Thanks everyone!!!

r.i.p. & Bobby: ::glowering at each other:: What she said.


	27. Deleted Scenes: Gag Reel

**Part II: Deleted Scenes from 'You're Sending Us to School!'**

Foreword: Most of these chapters are short and (in my opinion) humorous. It's meant to fill in the gaping holes that have haunted me. No, for real! They're right behind you! Boogieboogieboogie! Ahem. Keep in mind that I want you to laugh hysterically at most of these (even if they're not all that funny). The first chapter is the gag reel, but I'm putting up the real first chapter, too.

DISCLAIMER: nope. Don't own it.

* * *

Chapter 0: Gag Reel

A: Magazine

Hiei sat in a tree far from the Hogwarts castle. All of the hype in there was distracting. Not to mention the fact that he'd found a certain interesting something floating around in the Slytherin common room and had nicked it.

Oh, this was interesting. Wait, was that true? Did- No, it couldn't be... Holy- Oh, that's incriminating evidence! Where did they get that picture from? This was juicy stuff! Kurama would _not _be happy about this... Where in the world did they find _that _out?! Oh, look, there was- Now _that _was a compromising position to be in! Hah! They'd _both_ be furious if they fo- Okay, that was just completely unnecessary information. And he knew that _that _was a completely unbased conclusion...

Well, that was satisfying enough to read. Hiei decided that picking up Pansy's copy of _Modern-Day Romeo Magazine: Suichi Minamino _had been a good enough idea. Carelessly, the fire demon tossed it over his shoulder and onto the forest floor as he leapt to another tree.

_LATER..._

"Filthy humans! Disturbing our forest and then littering... How dare they!" Ronan raged as he waved the trash around.

"What in Hades's name _is _this, anyway?" the centaur asked suddenly, and flipped open the book.

"...Huh?"

_LATER THAT NIGHT..._

"Ronan, in Zeus's name are you reading?!" Bane asked, snatching the flimsy thing out of the other centaur's hands.

"Return that to me _now,_ Bane! I was not yet finished with it!"

"This is a human publication, Ronan. I cannot forgive that off-"

"I implore that you return that to me!"

"...Is it so addictive, Ronan?"

"Read and find out."

_EARLY THAT MORNING..._

"Bane! Ronan! Have you been up all night? And what is that-?"

"Magorian! Come and read this!"

Magorian scanned the magazine for a few minutes before shaking his head and tossing it into the fire. The screams of Bane and Ronan rang all over the forest as Magorian trotted away.

_The things those youngsters take interest in... It never ceases to amaze me._

And with that the centaur flipped open his copy of _Centaur Smut Weekly._

* * *

B: Dirty Work

Somehow, he managed to get his anger under control and hung up his end of the plate. He wanted sooo badly to just go, _"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!"_. Well, actually, he wanted to go, _"Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!"_, but he still needed his Death Eaters to do his dirty work for him. Which reminded Voldemort...

"Lucius! The dishes aren't done, dammit! GET TO WORK! Bella! Next time you do the laundry, do it right! My robes are three sizes too small and this one has a bloody wine stain on it! And Wormtail, why is Nagini just sitting there? When was the last time you fed her, you imbecile?!"

"Oh. Uh. I was su- supposed to f-feed h-her, M-m-master?"

Long pause.

"NOOOOOOO! NAGINI!! DIE, RAT, DIE!!!"

* * *

C: Getting to Know Voldy-Poo

"I'd like to know what his real name is, if you don't mind," This asked Harry, and Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded.

"What makes you think that Lord Voldemort's not his real name?"

Thia let out a sound that was a cross between a disbelieving sigh and a laugh.

"What kind of freak would name her son Voldemort? I mean, if you translate it literally by breaking up the words, the name means 'flight from death'."

"Oh. His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Kuwabara and Yusuke broke out into laughter. "Ha! Marvolo? What's that, some kind of washing detergent?"

* * *

D: Analyzing the Enemy

"Hey, do you think that the whole world domination plan will all work out, with Voldemort on the Human World and Tsurin in Spirit World?" Thia asked Kurama.

"Not really."

"Me neither. When you're a world dominator, you can't have a partner. Someone always kills the other."

"So... That means you're going to kill me?" Kurama asked, eyes wide.

"Oops."

* * *

E: Mud What?

"Babies of the Mud! Now bow to the All-Powerful Lord Tsurin, you foolish humans!"

Cue the evil laugh.

"WAAAAAH! DADA!!!" one of the mud babies cried, and the others soon followed suit.

"Whew, that is one powerful smell! GET SOME DIAPERS, YOU CHEAPO!" Yusuke screamed at the top of his lungs.

* * *

F: Sold!

Genkai shook her head. "We never knew about the Pearl or the Peridot. What we were trying to do was sell Dumbledore's snot green stuffed monkey. He can't live without it, so Kingsley, Remus, and I decided to sell it, as a joke. We wanted to see how far Albus was willing to go to get it back."

"Which is why they were attacked. Naturally, Botan wouldn't know that I was the one who sent those people to retrieve Mr. Boom-Boom."

"Mr. Boom-Boom?!" was the incredulous exclaim from the "younger" set.

"Yes. Mr. Boom-Boom." Dumbledore pulled the stuffed monkey from the folds of his robes. "Mr. Boom-Boom, say hello to my students."

In a high-pitched squeak, he added, "Hello, students!"

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, and Thia all sat completely still before edging away, slowly but surely, and then breaking into a run.

"All this time, we've been under the leadership of a psycho!" Hermione said to the rest of the group in general.

"Do you think it's too late to join Voldemort?" was Harry's question.

"Yes. How about we form our own world domination group?" Thia asked, winking at Kurama, who smiled a very, very evil smile.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **I originally had one or two more sections of this, but I lost them when la computadora crashed. Well, actually, the floppy disks that I used to store this on somehow corrupted that particular part. And the beginning of the next chapter. ::sighs::_

_Okay, and I think that I didn't explain it well, and people thought that I actually live in the Philippines... Um, well, no, I live in New York (and I go to Stuyvesant HS ::brag::). I just know about the Filipino school schedule because my mom's a Filipina and when I went there in the summer one year, none of my cousins were at home to play with me._

_**Responses:**_

_**Arano Honou—**::ogles:: Ten out of ten!? COOL! Thanks for your help with the C2 thing- I think I understand it a _little_ better now. Yeah, the sequel is- _hopefully going to be written! She just rejected her initial idea for the sequel because, frankly, it stunk._ Shut up, Thia. It's on its way. I'm writing the first chapter over again, so... Thanks for reading! And reviewing!_

_**Jessica, Everqueen—**Your support of a sequel is noted! Thanks for reviewing!_

_**poltergeist report 101, RikoRishodeathangeloflight, Cattibrie393, Ronin of Greenwood, wolfer —**Thanks for all your reviews!_

_**slave2anime—**Oh, but they _were_ good! My potential title sucks. Badly. _Bobby: HEY! I was the one who thought up that title!_ My point exactly._

_**Meghann—**Oh yeah, I remember that one! _Bobby: How could you forget it? You didn't stop muttering it under your breath and giggling until I had to gag you. _Ahem! So, well, here are the Deleted Scenes! Thanks sooo much for reviewing!!!_

**_Rose—_**Thia: I'm also disappointed that I didn't get any kissage at the end! But nooo, I have to be the timid one and I have to wait for _him_ to kiss _me._ THAT'S NOT FAIR, R.I.P!_ ::gags Thia:: Uh, sorry for that. ::whispering:: P... M... S... Oh, wait...::tearing up:: My loyal reader??? ::sobs:: _Bobby: Gah! I'm surrounded by over-emotional alter-egos! So: Thank you! Or: 'You're Welcome!', whichever one I'm supposed to say to you!


	28. Deleted Scenes: Travel

A.N.: 'Kay, I won't make this long. Just a poll question to make me feel guilty: How many people who have me on Author Alert got freaked out when they saw that I had a new story out and thought it was the sequel? And who's ready to kill me 'cause it wasn't? Yeah. Sorry about that. _Kleptomaniacal_ was a little... unplanned. A brain burst at the most inopportune time.

DISCLAIMER: I really don't own YYH or HP. Really. So, uh... don't... sue?

Chapter 01: Travel

"No."

"But-"

"Is your hearing deteriorating, Kurama? NO." One look at that- that _thing_ made of flimsy metal by fool-hardy humans had decided it. No way in HELL was Hiei going to board it.

Kurama sighed in exasperation, fully ready to either 1) drag the fire demon onto the plane by his shirt collar, or 2) just leave him.

"Oh, fine. If the shrimp is afraid of heights, that's his problem," Kuwabara said airily.

Hiei's eyes flashed dangerously.

* * *

"_Kurama!"_

"Hiei, killing an innocent girl will not solve your problems. If anything, they'll make them even worse." The red-head glanced at his watch. By his calculations, they'd only been on the plane for, oh, ten minutes.

"_She's poking me!"_ The Short One's voice was strangled and furious, and he seemed about to murder the three-year-old girl behind him, who was indeed poking him.

"Then let's switch seats," Kurama suggested, obviously exasperated. Hiei gave one of his trademark little 'hn's, but decided to comply.

Thankfully for the little girl, Kurama didn't seem to run out of patience, and she soon grew bored.

_That's going to leave a mark._

* * *

"Sir? Sir?" A flight attendant asked cautiously, and Kurama snapped awake.

"Yes?"

"Sir, did you order a child's meal for your friend here?" The woman gestured to a glowering Hiei.

"Oh, no."

"_How. Many. Hours. Left?"_ the fire demon managed to get out once the attendant had left.

"Oh. Ten."

_Koenma will die a terrible, painful death,_ Hiei thought, and tried to content himself with scenes in which he _slaughtered_ the toddler.

* * *

Behind them, Yusuke and Kuwabara were sleeping. Or rather, one was already asleep while the other was being kept up. By what?

"STOP SNORING, KUWABARA!" Yusuke bellowed. The carrot haired one didn't so much as shift.

"Sir, calm down and be quiet. There are other-"

"TELL HIM TO BE QUIET!"

"Sir-"

"SHUT UP, KUWABARA!"

"-I have no objection to throwing you out the window. Or door, for that matter."

That sure caught the Spirit Detective's attention. He wasn't completely sure she was kidding.

* * *

_Later, in JFK airport, NY..._

Thia watched as Yusuke and Kuwabara devoured hot dogs, pizza, bagels, pretzels, and various foods of the like. She checked her watch once again. 4:27 AM. The flight wasn't until of the like.

"That is just disgusting," she muttered, and propped up one of her spell books in front of her face so that she wouldn't have to watch the spectacle before her.

"_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5._ Interesting. However, aren't we entering year 6?"

"Yeah. But no doubt I'm loads behind. I bought all of the books that were on the lists for the years beneath us. I read them all during the non-existent preparation period we were given."

Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped munching to ask, "How many books were there?"

"You don't want to know," she replied darkly.

* * *

The flight from New York to London was not _quite _as eventful as the one from Japan to NY, but it did have its share of... um... _events,_ shall we say?

"Passengers with elderly or disabled accompanying them, please proceed to the front of the line. Also, passengers with children may also progress to the front of the line," came a voice over the intercom.

"Oh, disabled, that's you, Kuwabara, c'mon!" Yusuke received a bonk on the head for that one.

"Miss, you and your family can go to the front," a man told Thia.

"Um, what?"

"Go up to the front. He belongs to your group, doesn't he?" the man asked, gesturing to Hiei.

"Oh. Yeah. C'mon, boys, let's go!"

"But shrimp here isn't-"

"Come _on_! Boys these days!" Thianadel shrugged at the man and ran to the front.

Hiei's self-restraint was wearing thin. Extremely thin.

* * *

Thianadel blasted her CD player so that she wouldn't have to hear the sounds of retching coming from the boys next to her.

_I told them that eating so much wasn't good, BUT NO ONE LISTENS TO ME! Okay, Thia, keep humming, keep listening to the music... Yusuke and Kuwabara aren't barfing... Ooh, this feeling in my stomach is NOT GOOD! Okay, I don't think I should've looked at them. EEEEW! Did they just- NO WAY AM I STAYING HERE!!! EEEW-EEEW-EEEW-EEEW- EEEW-EEEW!!!!_

"Kurama, please, please, please, please, please switch seats with me? I beg of you!" she pleaded with the red-head next to her. He gave her a reluctant nod. Apparently, even he wasn't susceptible to the nausea that comes from watching another person throw up everything in their system.

"Thank you sooooo much. That is just nasty."

* * *

_**Responses:**_

_**Meghann, Arano Honou, Princess Krystal01, poltergeist report 101, Minakara, samuraiduck27, Lobs-StAcEy-Ters, Taurus 07, Harmony Hanyou, Crimson Zephyr—**I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!_

_**high-off-life—**lol, yup! GC rocks! Thanks!_

_**Long Live Asato Kido—**Whoa, the Ministry of Magic? And Harry?... Urm, okay! Heeere Fluffy! Heeeere Hiei! Get fetch it, boys! Ah, yes, I agree it's rather depressing I don't live in the Philippines... I love it there! But I've put news about the sequel below._

_**Penny: Angel of Darkest Dreams—**Yay! I've been waiting for your review! I can now officially welcome you into my Circle of Dark and Evil Reviewers Who Want to Take Over the World!!! ::evil laughter:: Aheh... See whatcha got yourself into with me?_

* * *

Author's Notes: So, okay, I'm not quite sure whether I'm late in posting this or early or whatever, 'cause I think I've got a cold (::growling:: Polina... Feel my wrath! Naw, I'm just messin' with ya!) and my head's spinning at extremely fast speeds. So, like, I don't know whether I'm comin' or goin'.

::Evil laughter:: I'm sorry, I don't really like torturing Hiei or Kurama or any of the others... Okay, so maybe I do. I just have a crazy sense of humor. This is one of the longer chapters... Aaanyway, thanks for reading! REVIEW!

Oh, and speaking of reviewing, I passed 200 reviews a while ago, and I forgot to thank you all! Now it's something like 225, so I'm a bit late in doing this, but...

_PARTY!!!_

Thank you, Bobby. We give you...

_All: TWINKIES!!! And your choice of one of the YYH or HP characters!!!_

_(And we MEAN one. Well, except for those of you with conflicting alter-egos, a la r.i.p and moi. You can have two.)_

Update on the Sequel:

::sighs:: Well, I'm really trying to experiment with the sequel. I've tried adding InuYasha (and I haven't completely trashed that idea) and I'm currently trying out throwing Asato Kido and Kaitou and Yana into the mix. In short: I've got no idea what in HELL I'm doing. Seriously.

But I do have one scene planned out. And it's a secret. ::mysterious smile::


	29. Deleted Scenes: Shopping!

DISCLAIMER: This author, though she is distraught by saying so, does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. Will the legal advisors and lawyers _please_ stop stalking her now? (No offense to anyone with a parent in the legal business. Or if you're in the legal business. ::timidly:: I'm sorry?)

_Location: Between chapters 2 (3 isn't part of the plot) and 4._

Chapter 02: Shopping!

Though Thianadel had bought most of their supplies, a short trip to Diagon Alley had been needed for robes and for wands. Robes were easy. Wands were... harder.

Naturally, though, a trip to Gringotts was needed, both to change money and to retrieve it. The boys (excluding Hiei) had a bit of money that they had gotten from their parents for various things. Thia had $150.00, not to mention a Gringotts account. Putting that through the conversion rate, it amounted to 26 Galleons and 8 Sickles. They were then taken to a vault deep underground.

"Woohoo!" Yusuke yelled as they rode in the cart to the vault.

Apparently, he was enjoying himself. Thia, on the other hand, was clutching at the sides of the cart, seemingly fearing the instability of the wooden vehicles.

Finally, they stopped at a vault whose number was completely irrelevant and where she withdrew a substantial amount of the money stored there.

"I opened an account the last time I was here," Thia explained as she pocketed a few more Galleons.

"This is all _yours_?" Yusuke asked, gawping at the piles of gold, silver, and bronze that were stacked knee-high all throughout the room.

"One of the benefits of being the only one left in my immediate family," was the grim reply.

* * *

And then they arrived at Ollivanders. The odd man who owned the shop gave them a funny look as they entered the room, his silvery eyes taking in their appearances.

"I assume that you are transfer students? Excellent, excellent. Who's first? Ah, you, young man. Which is your wand arm?" After getting Yusuke's measurements, and giving out a wand spiel that, quite frankly, no one listened to, he went into the back to retrieve a wand.

There was a relative silence before Kurawara decided to comment with, "I hope these wands don't make me look like a fairy."

A rather unsure pause.

"I think you've got a picture of a 'Tinkerbell' wand in your head, Kuwabara. You'll see, they don't look like that." The red-head had a skeptical look on his face, but then Mr. Ollivander came out with the undeniable proof.

"Ah, here we go, mahogany, flexible, twelve inches, unicorn hair. Give it a try." Yusuke waved it around pathetically, and something gave a loud bang.

"No, no, no. Here, beechwood, twelve inches, rigid, dragon heartstring."

Three wands later, Yusuke had damaged half of the store, but his wand had been found. An inflexible, eleven inch wand made of yew with a unicorn hair at the very core.

"Ah, I know exactly the wand for you, good sir!" Mr. Ollivander said at the very moment he saw Kuwabara. It was a fifteen-and-a quarter inch yew, rigid, and with a dragon heartstring at the center. A single wave produced orange sparks not unlike the color of his trademark Spirit Sword.

"Oh, you're a tricky customer!" was the joyful cry that he gave after Hiei had (resentfully) tried twenty wands, none of them quite right. And then Ollivander brought out an ebony, eight-and-three-quarters inches wand, the core of it another dragon heartstring, middling in its flexibility. This time when the demon flicked the wand, it didn't give a satisfactory **BANG!** (which Hiei had begun to rather like), but rather showered the spectators with menacing black sparks.

"Hn." That fuzzy feeling occurring in the pit of his stomach was _really_ uncomfortable.

Thia's was not quite as hard to find as Hiei's, but it took twelve tries for her to get a willow wand, twelve inches, supple and made with a phoenix feather. The wave that she gave it produced a multitude of green and pink sparks.

"Pink?! What?! Mistake! I cannot have a wand that chooses to spark off PINK stuff! I mean, the green's okay, but PINK?!"

No one knew quite what to say.

"Sorry. Materialistic American Teenager Mode. I'll shut up now," Thia said sheepishly, retreating into a corner.

Kurama's wand was found within the first three wands that he tried. Made of rosewood (what else would it be made of?) and a phoenix feather, the thirteen inch wand was quite bendy and gave off silver sparks _everywhere_.

"Hey Kuwabara, if you still want that Tinkerbell wand, we can always get a couple of stickers and a star for you."

"Shut up!"

* * *

****

**Author's Notes:** Okay, you're probably wondering why Thia didn't buy her wand when she bought all of the other stuff... and truth be known, so am I. I'm guessing that I gave her my lack of common sense when I created her character... I'm making this a 2-4-1 rogueicephoenix special!!!

Oh, and as far as I know, Ollivanders only makes wands from unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, and phoenix feather. But that's only as far as I know. Oh, and I'm not saying that all American teenagers are materialistic. Thia is.

Thia: HEY! I AM SOOOO NOT MATERIALISTIC!

Will you give the readers your Yu Yu Hakusho DVDs?

...I'm materialistic. Very materialistic.


	30. Deleted Scenes: The End of the Ride and ...

STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES.

_Location: Original plan for chapter 4. Very beginning can be used for the edited chapter 4._

Chapter 03: The End of the Ride and the Beginning of the Mission

For the rest of the ride they made small chat ("What school did you used go to?"), though Kurama and Thia had the same idea to get engrossed in a book, ("Is that the Potions textbook... and the Transfiguration textbook?! Hermione, you've got a bit of competition!" "Shut up, Ron!") once the red-head had finally given her text back to her.

Then the train stopped and it was time for everyone to get off.

A bellow of "Firs' years!" was heard all over the station. And then: "Transfers jus' meet Dumbledore up at the castle. Follow the other studen's."

"Whoa! Freaky lookin' horses!" Yusuke shouted as soon as he saw the 'horseless' carriages. The black, skeletal _things_ were straight out of a nightmare book, and yet a few of the other students were (fumblingly) reaching out and touching them, half affectionately and half frightened.

"They're thestrals," a few quiet voices piped up.

"You can see them? Who'd you see-" Ron was cut off by a sudden jab in his ribs by Hermione.

"If I'm not mistaken, all of us can see the thestrals," Kurama replied nonchalantly, and reached out to give one a slight touch.

"They give me the shivers."

"You'd rather they were monster-sized kittens, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked, one of his characteristic smirks on his face.

"SHUT UP, URAMESHI!!!" the carrot-haired one bellowed, and threw his fist out at the other boy.

The others sweat-dropped.

"Are they always like this?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

"Don't just stand around! Break them apart!" Hermione shrieked at her friends, both new and old. Hiei gave her a cold glance that said clearly, 'You do it.' Kurama was smiling- _smiling!_

"Well?!" the bushy-haired girl prompted Weasley and Potter.

"Aw, 'Mione! It's just getting interesting! Get him, Kuwabara!"

Hermione turned to Thia, who grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, look, it's Kayko and Yukina!"

The two boys shot up and stood at attention, both looking rather guilty.

"WHERE?!"

"Situation diffused."

* * *

As it turned out, it was not Dumbledore who met the transfers, but rather, the hook-nosed Severus Snape.

"You will follow me," he commanded as soon as he caught sight of them. Then he said, "I will advise you to stay away from trouble-makers such as Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley."

"Thanks for the pointer, but I'll..." Yusuke uncharacteristically withered under Snape's glare.

"He can make his own little friends," Hiei finished, staring Snape straight in the eyes.

No one else spoke as they made their winding way to the headmaster's office.

* * *

Mm... 'kay, I'm not sure which reviews are from which chapter, 'cause I have the distinct feeling that some of these were for the Gag Reel chapter (everyone seemed to like Mr. Boom-Boom...). Still, I'm going to say thanks to, well, everyone.

**Responses:**

**Minakara, Princess Krystal01, dizappearingirl, Shadow Fox777—**Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!

**poltergeist report 101—**Thanks so much for your suggestion!

**samuraiduck27—**Yeah, I feel so bad for Hiei, too! Thanks for reviewing!

**lobs-stacey-ters—**Thanks so much, especially for reading Pyrite!

**DarkLordofDoomness—**Heh! The word 'doomness' _is_ cool! Meep! Not... The Hokey Pokey Stick of Pain!!! Oh, anything BUT the Hokey Pokey Stick of Pain!! ::faints:: _Bobby: Worry not, we're working on the Sequel. ::mutters about stupid alter-egos:: Thanks for reviewing, and please come again!_

**slave2anime—**lol. Hiei is yours! Well, for this month, anyway. The amount of people who want Hiei means that you all have to share him, unfortunately... But thanks for the review! (Am I becoming repetitive?)

**Shichi—**Yeah, there's going to be a sequel, but it hasn't been written at all yet. Thanks for reviewing!

**Shessha's Crazy—**lol, yeah, help yourselves! It's a reward for reviewing!

**Long Live Asato Kido/ Falcon-sama—**Thanks for reviewing! Gred and Forge, huh? Well, erm, have fun!

* * *

**Author's Note:** The reason why I didn't do this is because I had no idea how to continue and therefore trashed the idea (although the beginning part might be still good for the original storyline).

Thestrals: I wasn't sure about whether they could see the thestrals because I'm not completely sure that the whole you-can't-see-them-unless-you've-seen-someone-die rule applied to seeing people that you didn't exactly care for die, because obviously then they'd definitely be in. And then I started musing about how if you've already been dead, should you be able to see them because they seem to have a lot to do with the subject?... It made sense to me at the time, in a funny sort of way, but now I see that I'm a tad mental. Ah well, review, pretty please!

* * *

**Sequel Update:**

Ooookay. So, yeah, it's coming. I've written up the basis of the first chapter. There will be one or two, ahem, guest appearances by people who are rather de- _Bobby: SHUT UP! That's called a spoiler for your own damn story!_ Fine. But, okay. The _temporary _cast of the sequel will include ::deep breath:: the psychics, Kido, Kaitou, and Yana. _TEMPORARY_ cast. I do believe that the TEMPORARY title will be... ::drumroll:: **_'Trick Questions'_**. That's a mean little teaser, eh?


	31. DS: The Sleeping Arrangement Escapade

DISCLAIMER: This rogueicephoenix does not, in any way, shape, or form, own either the Harry Potter series or the Yu Yu Hakusho series, though she does –wish- she did.

_Location: Chapter 5 ½._

Chapter 04: The Sleeping Arrangement Escapade

Hiei hated this room. Keeping such close quarters with these mangy humans was disgraceful, utterly disgraceful.

Not to mention the fact that the snooty, pretentious Malfoy was his roommate. Or rather, one of his roommates. With every idiot that came through that door, Hiei mentally cringed. It would probably bring him physical pain to count them all.

It was bad enough that Malfoy was giving him 'wanna be my friend?' looks.

Well, he was certainly not going to actually sleep in here. There was a window on his side of the room that he could escape through later tonight.

What a stupid rule that people couldn't be out of the dorm at night.

So Hiei waited. And when he was assured by the slow breathing in the dormitory that everyone else was asleep, he slipped out of bed, drew the curtains around the bed, and opened the latch on the window.

In his haste to exit the hated dormitory, he had failed to notice that the hinges on it were old, rusty, and (worst of all) squeaked like a dying rat. (a.n.: Worry not, animal activists, no rats were hurt in the production of this fanfic. In fact, I'm only guessing about what a dying rat sounds like. Please don't tell me whether I'm right or wrong, because I'm not really that morbid. Or, well, I am, but you're not supposed to know that.)

Hiei was torn over whether to wait or to bolt, but decided on the former, for some odd reason. He was fast enough to make it- so why didn't he?

_I've been around these humans for too long._

As soon as the light snoring returned, he began to open the window more, inwardly cringing every time it made even the slightest sound. And then it was opened and he was about to leap when-

"Hold him down!" someone yelled, and Hiei was seized from behind.

Ooh, someone was going to die.

* * *

Hiei was in Snape's personal office. He'd refused to speak to his Head of House (except for 'Hn'), though, and the Potions master had flown off in a storm to return with one of the few people who _could_ get Hiei to talk.

"And they thought you were going to commit suicide."

Hiei gave a grunt of assent.

"So they told Professor Snape."

Another grunt.

Kurama sighed.

"You can't do this, Hiei. It will only lead to trouble. You have to conform to the rules."

"Hn."

And that was the reason that Hiei had to sleep in the dormitory.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** It occurred to me that Hiei would never willingly sleep in the Slytherin dormitory unless forced for one reason or other, though I'm sorry I made it so darn short. I'd like your input on this, please! Yet another 2-4-1 comin' right up!!!


	32. Deleted Scenes: Toilet Seats

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it. Only Thia.

Chapter 05: Toilet Seats

Yusuke was pissed off. Like, really pissed off. How many friggin' detentions was he going to get? But more importantly: WHEN WAS HE GOING TO GET EXPELLED?!

So he began to ask around. Gather information. Stuff like that. And he heard a lot of stuff about the Weasley twins, heroes in their own right. They'd flown off on their broomsticks last year, never to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as students EVER AGAIN.

Yusuke wished he could do that. Ride off into the sunset after committing a particularly heinous crime, like the main character in one of those outlaw-cowboy-type movies. And as it was coming to the end of middle of the year, Yusuke had to act fast.

What to do, what to do?

"A gift," Yusuke muttered aloud. Kuwabara looked at his friend from across the room.

"Wha-"

"Nothing, Kuwabara."

A gift... It would have to be good. Like... a Spirit Gun through the roof. Or... uprooting Hagrid's pumpkin patch... Or... stealing something...

But what could he steal? Something not so valuable that they'd chop off his head. Just something that would get him expelled...

A statue? No WAY. A school owl? What the heck would he want one of those for? A plate? Hmm... A toilet seat. Maybe... Maybe he could "ask" one of the prefects to give him the password to their bathroom. He'd heard that the toilet seats in there were solid gold and that the sinks were pure silver. Hmm... It was just a toilet seat, after all.

But it would really piss off Dumbledore.

* * *

Yusuke had gotten it from one of the Hufflepuff prefects.

"_Persniffle!_"

What in the hell did that mean? Persniffle? But anyway, Yusuke stood in one of the stalls with Harry's Invisibility Cloak (it had been _borrowed,_ not stolen) and looked at the toilet seats. He had actually done his homework last night by looking up the spell required to do the deed, and was now trying to actually remember it. It began with a 'b', right?

"Burpio, britio, bripo... Oh, yeah! _Abripio!_"

_It's too bad they're not really solid gold,_ the Spirit Detective thought as he looked at what he had written on his palm to see what the 'make-smaller' spell was.

"_Reducio!"_ And with that, he pocketed the miniscule toilet seat.

That would send a message.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sighed when the alert sounded in his office. He really should go down there, or at least send someone else, but he had the oddest feeling that the one who had committed the discrepancy was none other than Yusuke Urameshi, wanting vengeance. Ah, well. Toilet seats were replaceable. The boy was actually doing him a favor. He'd been wanting new ones for the prefects' bathroom anyway.

* * *

**Responses:**

**poltergeist report 101—**And a Happy Valentine's Day to you! Thanks for reviewing!

**lobs-stacey-ters—**Fast enough for you? Thanks for reviewing!

**KaraKurama—**I'm working on it! Thanks so much!

**Harmony Hanyou—**Oh, cool! I didn't even think of it that way! lol, yeah, don't you just want to cuddle him when he does that?

**Princess Krystal01—**Yay! Cookie...crumbs... Thank you for reviewing.

**samuraiduck27, Shadow Fox777—**Thank you!

**Kohaku-san—**Yeah, I know, isn't it weird? I've been looking for some completed YYHHP crossovers, but with very little luck... It's strange! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**DarkWarLordofDoomness—**Thank you for reviewing! I realized that I forgot the 'war' in your penname last time! -- Umm, pretty please, don't go berserk! I don't know if I'm within a mile of your computer!

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Abripioto detatch

The only real reason why I included this is because of the first chapter of the sequel. The sooner I posted this one, the sooner I could get **Trick Questions** up. I hope that I'm not putting up the chapters up too fast, but all of these chapters are already written and are only undergoing a quick overview. So review? Please?

Oh, and I forgot, I started a C2! ::crickets chirp:: ::sheepishly:: Just felt like mentioning it to you... you know, in case you wanted to check it out...

* * *

**Regarding _Trick Questions _(a.k.a. 'THE SEQUEL')**

I've already gone through two drafts of the first chapter, and I'm working on my third. I've written up the basis for chapter 2, and I'm planning out future events. Please be patient (even though I'm about as impatient as you are for the darn thing to get posted) because I want to finish putting up the Deleted Scenes before I start on the sequel. I promise to make up for this delay by, erm... putting a little teaser of it in the last Deleted Scene (there are ten in all).


	33. Deleted Scenes: Curiosity Killed the Cat

DISCLAIMER: If I impersonate Rowling or Togashi, then you can sue me. But I'm not, so nyah-nyah!

_Location: Anywhere in chapters 6 and 7. Dedicated to: Rose, 'cause she's the one who wanted to know about the CD player._

Chapter 06: Curiosity Killed the Cat...

The day had been harsh to Thia. After panicking about the first test of the year and then being buried under homework, all the girl wanted to do was relax with a glass of iced tea, a nice novel, and her CD player.

_Well, I have my novel. And my CD player's in my trunk... I wonder what'd happen if I used it in here._

Curiosity killed the cat. Curiosity also blew up Thia's CD player.

Well, it wasn't exactly an explosion in the literal sense of the word. But she did come running out of the dormitory, hands burned and screaming bloody murder.

"What's the matter?" Kurama asked, jumping out of his chair. He was outwardly calm, but still alarmed at her furious shrieks.

"G'dammit, WHY?!" she begged to know, and opened her hands to reveal a smoking plastic object the color of cherries.

"What happened to-?"

"SUICHI, WILL YOU JUST GET MY CD OUT OF THE DAMN PLAYER?!" Thia shouted at the top of her lungs, and shoved the thing into his hands. It was still quite hot to the touch.

Kurama sweat-dropped.

Still, he pried the machine open and handed the slightly damaged disk to Thia, who sighed in relief and put it in a pocket.

"All right, then. What happened was that I wanted to see what would happen if I used the CD player in here. And the moment it started, it began to give off sparks and then it went totally haywire, the batteries virtually turned to acid, and the thing overheated. And now my hands _really_ hurt. Ow, that was such a _stupid _thing to do... Sometimes I really wonder if I was born without common sense or if I lost it over the years." Thia studied the burnt skin on the palms of her hands and was apparently clenching her jaw, trying not to gag or flinch.

"_Really_ stupid," she said, but half-way through she seemed to lose her voice and blinked away tears of PAIN.

Kurama sighed and led her out the common room door, presumably to the hospital wing. However, he only moved to one of the less populated hallways, then took one of her hands in his own and began to heal it.

"Su-"

"Don't say it. Just answer this question: Why is music so important to you that you'd risk not only your CD player, but yourself?" Kurama questioned in a low voice.

"Because it helps me to cope."

"With?"

"Feelings and problems. It centers my emotions so that I can concentrate on other things," was Thia's response.

"So you hum during battle for concentration."

"Yeah." And then, "Why didn't you just take me to the infirmary?" she asked.

"I don't know," replied Kurama, a slightly surprised look gracing his features.

Thia flashed him a smile.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** _Bobby: Warning! r.i.p. seems like she's a little high on something right now... proceed with caution._

Well, there's the humor and there's the sweet stuff. (heh-heh) It also explains why Thia hums when she fights. Interesting? Yes? No? Tell me if you review, please!!! I'm giving out Mr. Boom-Booms to anyone who does!

Oh, and anyone who wants to tell me to read JoIsBishMyoga's **The Best Defense**... HA! I already read it- right before I started the sequel to YSUtS a few weeks back!!! That's why it's been in my C2 ever since its creation (the C2's not the story's). But if anyone sees any other really good YYHHP fanfics, please be sure to tell me! (Or join the darn C2... your choice!)

* * *

**Responses:**

**Shadow Fox777—**I would tell you where I got all this stuff... if I knew! Thanks so much for your review!

**poltergeist report 101—**Those are a lot of 'HA's... COOL! C2: FF. net's definition of the C2 is a favorite's list on steroids. My definition of a C2 is that it's like a special fanfiction archive for a particular theme, like certain non-canon pairings or crossovers. Did I help at all? Thanks for reviewing, though!!

**samuraiduck27, lobs-stacey-ters, HarmonyHanyou, slave2anime, DarkWarLordofDoomness—**Thanks for taking the time to review!! I'm really grateful!

**Princess Krystal01—**Yusuke can be reeeeally stupid, can't he? ::dives at cookies:: MWAHAHA! SUGAR! MINE! _Bobby: I'm going to kill whoever gave her caffeine._

**Rose—**Thanks! Yusuke's mind works in extremely mysterious ways, no? Hee! You gave me one reeeally frightening idea for the sequel! ::evil laughter::

**KuramaIsFine—**O.O Stuff in my fic scares you??? COOL! Anyway, thank you for all the reviews!


	34. Deleted Scenes: Lots

DISCLAIMER: idon'townyuyuhakushoorharrypotter. There, I said it.

_Location: Middle of chapter 9._

Chapter 07: Lots

"So, uh, how're we gonna do this?" Kuwabara asked. The five of them were supposed to be deciding whick two of them were going to witness the interrogation of the captives.

"Uhm... Rock-paper-scissors?" Thia suggested, and Kuwabara cracked his knuckles happily.

"No way! Kuwabara never loses at that game!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Shut up-"

"No you shut-" And then they began to brawl.

Kurama, Hiei, and Thia sweat-dropped.

"This is insane. How about a card game? Wait, no one has any cards." Thia thought a moment.

"How about a last-two-men-standing fight?" Yusuke suggested from where he was trying to get a better angle at punching Kuwabara.

"One problem with that, genius. Me. You know. A girl."

"Who cares ab-"

_**Whap!**_

"Any _better_ suggestions?" the girl asked, a tic pulsing in her forehead. (a.n.: coughSanzocough)

"Slips of paper in a hat. Two of them are marked, the others are not. The ones with marks go, the others go to class," was Kurama's idea.

"Hey! You took that from Genkai's thingamabob!" yelled the carrot-haired one.

Kurama's eyebrow twitched. "I did no such thing."

"Yeah, you did!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yup, ya did!"

Kurama gave up on verbally denying it. Rather, he had a narrow-eyed 'I-can-kill-you-faster-than-the-blink-of-an-eye-and-if-you-don't-shut-up-I'll-do-it' look on his face.

For once, Kuwabara took the hint.

* * *

"All right, everything's here. Now watch as I shake it up so don't even try to tell me that I'm cheating, hear? Okay, Hiei first, Kurama, Kuwabara, me, and Yusuke. In alphabetical order."

"But Kuwabara's not his first name," Yusuke pointed out.

"If you think I care, you're sorely mistaken. Now c'mon."

One by one, like docile little schoolchildren, they picked out their slips of paper.

"WOOHOO! EAT MY PAPER, URAMESHI!" Kuwabara whooped, and showed them a slip of parchment with a 'Celebrate! You're a Winner!' scrawled on it.

"I will!" And with that, Yusuke snatched the paper out of the carrot-haired boy's hand and threw it into his mouth. Kuwabara threw the first punch.

Thia shielded her eyes with one hand and the three of them sweat-dropped.

"Good Lord, can they do _nothing _but start fights with one another?" Thia asked.

"Their love-hate relationship is unbearably annoying," Hiei conceded.

"So who got the other one?"

"I did. Unfortunately," answered Kurama, looking a bit miserable. Hiei looked like he was going to gloat about his friend's unluckiness.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: There you are. You requested it and I answered. Short and to the point. Review, whatever, whatever. Ummm... To make this a 2-4-1 or not to make this a 2-4-1... that is the question...Okay! Heeere we go! (BTW, I'm sorry if I'm updating too fast for some people... I'm just feeling a little nuts at the moment.)


	35. Deleted Scenes: And Satisfaction Brought...

DISCLAIMER: I wonder, if I just spontaneously decided not to do these anymore, would someone actually sue me? Ah well. I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Harry Potter, or the song _Memory._ Their respective owners are Yoshihiro Togashi, J. K. Rowling, and Sugarcult.

_Location: Anywhere in chapters 10, 11, and 12._

Chapter 08: ...And Satisfaction Brought It Back

Thia was concentrating harder than ever on her schoolwork. In particular, Charms. Her scores in that particular class were all perfect, no matter how hard the work seemed to others in the class.

Kurama had a strange sense of premonition about this. And he was rightfully warned.

"Hey, Suichi, do you have any double A batteries?" she asked one day, eyes wide and innocent.

"No... But what would you need them for?" the red-head asked suspiciously. _They wouldn't work in here._

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Thia replied vaguely, and wandered off again.

Several days later, she received an odd-looking parcel via owl, which she quickly stashed in the folds of her robes.

_It could be candy or some other thing,_ her friend tried to reassure himself. He wasn't reassured.

* * *

Thia was doing something, a secret project that might bring hope to muggle-born students who were unwilling to relinquish one of the things they had grown to cherish in the muggle realm.

She was trying to charm her CD player. Her _new_ CD player.

So far the results had been disastrous, though thankfully she could always go, "_Reparo_!" and the confounded thing would fix itself. The real trick had been to find an ideal place to perform this magical endeavor and not get caught by anyone. She'd already attracted the attention of the oh-so-lovely Mrs. Norris and no way was she going to get into trouble with Filch. He seemed like the type of guy that might be a fan of corporal punishment against students. And Thia didn't doubt that the type of corporal punishment that he had in mind by far transcended the punishment outlawed in the United States education system.

Thia managed to find out from Harry and co. about the Room of Requirement. Currently, it was stocked with "How-To..." magic books and an extraordinary amount of tools. Fortunately enough, it also supplied batteries, so that she didn't have to keep asking her Great-Aunt Ceres to send a few packages. The last time, when she'd sent the CD player, Kurama had given her a suspicious look.

The latest results had elicited a frustrated growl from her. She'd almost burned a finger off completely, but had dropped the CD player on the floor at precisely the moment that the acid had eaten through the protective gloves Thia had donned. She was beginning to feel like a mad scientist. Or a mad alchemist. Yes, alchemist sounded much more magic-y.

* * *

Thia had been disappearing for the last few days and Kurama wanted to know where she was going. He wasn't being nosy or anything like that. He was just being... _concerned._ All of the worst-case scenarios had been playing in his head for quite some time and Kurama began to wonder why he was so worried. It wasn't as though there was some kind of underground Satanic cult in Hogwarts... was there? And if there was one and she joined it, then what? What kind of unbelievable rituals would they perform?

And since when did his imagination run away with him?

So the fox thief decided to follow her one day after dinner.

* * *

_All right, so if I do that... No, it wouldn't work. But maybe if- No, I already did that. Maybe with that charm... Yeah! I think that would be it, 'cause... Ooh, goody!_

Thia was so completely absorbed with her musings that she nearly went right past the stretch of wall that was the entranceway to the Room of Requirement. Oh, this brainstorm was going to work!

A tweak here, a tweak there, and then, with trembling fingers, she put on the headphones, adjusted the sound, and (holding her breath) pushed the play button.

"_This may never start/ We could fall apart.../ And not be your memory..."_

Thianadel Sherwood almost wept with utter joy. She jumped around, laughing at her success and turning up the music until her eardrums threatened to shatter.

So happy was she that she almost didn't see Kurama in the doorway, a neutral look on his face.

"_Lost your sense of fear/ Feelings insincere.../ Can I be your memory?"_

Almost.

"So this is where you've been," he said quietly as Thia pushed the earphones down to her neck.

"Uh. Yeah. I did it, Kurama! I finally figured out a way to make the CD player work and not go up in a puff of smoke!" The said male couldn't help but smile at his friend's exuberant comments.

"_So get back, back, back to where we lasted/ Just like I imagined/ I could never feel this way..."_

"How many times have you hurt yourself, though?" _Like you did that first time?_

"Absolutely none," was her too-fast answer. _Since when is he a worrier?_

"_So get back, back, back to the disaster/ My heart's beating faster/ Holding on to feel the same..."_

They were smiling like maniacs, one set of emerald eyes looking into another set of muddy green ones. Thia's grip on the silver disc player intensified as it became increasingly harder for her to remember to breathe.

"_This may never start/ I'll tear us apart.../ Can I be your enemy?"_

"Would you explain the process to me?" Kurama asked.

Meanwhile, Thia had completely frozen, trying to gather up the scattered disarray that was her mind.

"_Losing half a year/ Waiting for you here.../ Can I be your anything?"_

"Um. Okay. Weird. I can't remember it anymore," she confessed, though her eyes never left Kurama's.

"It's all right. I'm sure you'll remember it in time."

"Yeah, sure. So, should we go back to the dorms?" Thia asked quietly, when she'd finally been able to wrench her gaze from his.

He nodded, the smile lingering at the corner of his mouth, and together they departed.

* * *

**Responses:**

**KuramaIsFine, samuraiduck27, HarmonyHanyou—**WHEE! (Ali, if you ever read this, I know you're thinking of squirrels.) Thanks so much for reviewing! (Sorry if I'm getting a little repetitive- can I help it?)

**Shadow Fox777—**_Bobby: Yeah, I'm totally into music, too... And 'normal' is completely boring, isn't it? Thank you for reviewing!_

**Shessha's Crazy—**lol, well, have fun with Yoko!

**DarkWarLordofDoomness—**Um, okay, from what I understand, a person can subscribe to the C2 or be a part of the staff. To subscribe, you just have to access my profile and then click C2 Communities. It'll show the C2 name ('Of Wands and Spirit Guns'), which you click. There's a description of what it's about, which fanfics are currently stored there, etc. The subscribe option is right next to the C2 ID. But to be a part of the staff, it's a completely different thing that's a little more complicated. Anyway... Thanks for reviewing!

**poltergeist report 101—**I'm sorry if I'm overdoing the fluff! _Bobby: I tell her not to, and I tell her not to use big words, but she NEVER LISTENS! And I hate it when r.i.p. tries to make me act like a girl. She's so creepy and... girly. _I am NOT! Don't listen to her. Thanks for reviewing!!!

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ooh, I just love that song. Here's a question that I want to know the answer to: Where is Mr. Norris if the missus is with Filchy-baby? Was it some kind of secret love affair wherein Mrs. Norris left her husband to pursue a janitorial job with Mr. Filch? Or was it that a young Mr. Norris and Miss Filch eloped, and when the newly Mrs. Norris's parents found out, the mother enchanted her into the cat form and her father took her far, far away from her love? Or was it a curse that was placed upon Mr. and Mrs. Norris in which she was turned into a cat and he was forced to flee with her, change his name to Filch, and forevermore torture Hogwarts students with his ridiculous rules? I truly wonder.

And any true Sugarcult fans will notice that _Memory _is numero tres on the CD, so it wouldn't be the song that starts to play if Thia just only pressed the play button. And I have no explanation for this freakish occurrence. Oh, and I have a feeling that the _reparo_ thing is only for shattered objects, but... ::shrug:: ...Bobby, the evil bitch she is, doesn't feel like looking it up.


	36. Deleted Scenes: Ghost

DISCLAIMER: If I owned it, I'd flaunt it. Key word being 'if', 'cause I don't own n-e-thing 'cept 4 Thia. Well, and the plot. Most of it. And ½ a percent of my soul. Damn you, Satan! You knew full well I don't know how to play poker!

Chapter 09: Ghost

"Gah! Tickle feeling!" Kuwabara said, his voice tense and anxious. Harry looked from Kuwabara to the rest of the group and back.

"What?"

"Uh, well, you see, Kuwabara has this thing where he can feel the presence of ghosts," Yusuke explained, shrugging.

"Oh."

"Tickle feeling, tickle feeling, tickle feeling! Oh, there're so many of them!!"

"O-kee," was all that Thia said, and looked away. "What the-?!"

An entire company of ghosts came through the wall, chattering and arguing. Among them were Nearly Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron, and the Fat Friar.

"GAH!"

"There are your ghosts, Kuwabara," Hermione said, her voice quite nonchalant, as though this was an everyday occurrence. And technically, it was.

"GAH!"

"What the hell?! How come we can see them?!... THAT'S SO NOT FAIR!!!" Yusuke bellowed.

Sweat-drops for Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Thia. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were just plain confused.

"What do you mean? Of course you can see ghosts."

"A-heh. Things don't work the same way in Japan or America as they do here, I think. Probably. Unless I'm seriously mistaken."

"Oh," was all any of the three said to Thia's explanation.

"Stupid toddler... (mumblemumble)... couldn't see me when _I_ (mumblemumble)... had to do it the hard way... (mumblemumble)... stupid toddler..."

"What in the world Yusuke mumbling about now?"

"Uh... His... The toddler that Yusuke used to babysit, back in Japan. The child is rather bossy and gives him some slightly impossible miss-"

"KURAMA, SHUT UP!" Yusuke began to mumble again: "(Mumblemumble) fox... (mumblemumble) rip his head off... (mumblemumble) big mouth..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Ha! Haha! Yusuke muttering to himself... kinda reminds me of... me. This just sort of came as a brainstorm in the middle of production. I just didn't see where I could actually put this in... 

And this is the end! Woohoo! Thanks for reading, and-

_Wait... aren't you forgetting one DS? This is only nine. There were supposed to be ten. WHERE IS THE TENTH, R.I.P?!_

Oh. Um. Oops. I kinda... deleted it. I deleted the Deleted Scene. Um... ha?

_IDIOT!!! ::Pulls out revolver and starts shooting at random places::_

Thia: But anyway, as promised in DS #5, here's a little teaser/trailer sort of thing for **Trick Questions. **::bullet grazes her cheek:: WOULD YOU STOP THAT?! Gawd, she's been channeling Genjo Sanzo's spirit lately, hasn't she!?

* * *

_"Harry, you've been staring at the board for about fifteen minutes straight. Can't you see, Ron's got you in a stalemate," Hermione pointed out rather lazily. _

_"No-no-no. I think..." Harry blinked at the board. "Oh. You're right."_

_Hermione had a sort of 'duh?' look on her face._

_"Face it, mate, you can't win. Against me, anyway."_

_Ron looked bored. Harry looked perplexed. And Hermione looked bored to tears. The thing called Silence bore down on them all, and no one could think of a good enough subject to bring up._

_"WOOGA-WOOGA-WOOGA!" something yelled from the entrance of the dining room._

* * *

And I'll just leave it at that. 

_::Bobby whaps r.i.p. and Thia with a fan::_

Both: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!

_It was a cliffhanger. People don't necessarily like cliffhangers. People will chase you around with rather large guns. ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! DO YOU –LIKE- THE HOKEY POKEY STICK OF PAIN OR ANY OF THE OTHER AUTHOR TORTURE DEVICES THESE PEOPLE HAVE?!_

Meep! ::meekly:: Please be patient, people! And REVIEW! I beg of thee!


End file.
